Progress 10/01/99 to 09/30/04
Outputs
Using a general equilibrium trade model of two economies producing two goods with one more pollution intensive than the other and with transaction costs of environmental governance, the general combinations of conditions leading to stronger or weaker environmental governance are derived. The model also demonstrates that stronger environmental legislation will only be preferred as income rises for environmental goods that are consumed directly such as air quality. The protection of environmental services that enter into traded goods will not be affected by an increase in income. Further work on the transaction costs of environmental governance with respect to how we collectively understand complex environmental problems augment the general insights of the formal model.
Impacts
These findings help identify the conditions that affect the choice of environmental governance and thereby the level of environmental goods and services in an increasingly global economy. The model supports neither a race to the bottom whereby all countries lower their environmental standards nor a race to the top. The analysis suggests, however, that some countries will find it advantageous to have stronger (or weaker) legislation affecting environmental services related to a particular traded good while their trading partners will choose weaker (or stronger) legislation with respect to the good they trade in turn.
Publications
- Norgaard, R. B. 2004. Learning and Knowing Collectively. Ecological Economics 49(2):231-241.
|
Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
Broad findings from a general equilibrium model of two economies producing two goods with one more pollution intensive than the other have been interpreted in the context of population shifts, economic activity changes, and differential environmental concern in the Western United States. The difficulties of environmental governance under increasing specialization, increasing time and distance between actors and environmental effects, and new trade regimes are being explored.
Impacts
These findings help sort out some of the more sophisticated concerns about the mixed social and environmental consequences of the new global economy.
Publications
- Norgaard, Richard B. and Paul Baer. 2003. Seeing the Whole Picture. World Futures 59(3-4):225-39.
- Norgaard, Richard B. 2003. Which We, Whose Wisdom, Whither the Mountain West? BioScience 53(3):278-281.
- Norgaard, Richard B. 2003. Passion and Ecological Economics: Towards a Richer Coevolution of Value Systems and Environmental Systems. In Stephen Dovers, David I. Stern, and Michael D. Young (eds). New Dimensions in Ecological Economics: Integrated Approaches to People and Nature. Cheltenham, UK. Edward Elgar.
|
Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02
Outputs
Using a general equilibrium model of just two countries producing two goods, one pollution intensive, who then engage in trade allows us to explore the conditions under which trade in goods, technological change, and capital movements lead to shifts in environmental governance regimes that favor the production of the good that is more pollution intensive or the good that is less pollution intensive.
Impacts
This research will reduce the debate over whether trade leads to a "race to the bottom" with respect to environmental protection and could provide prescriptive insights with respect to how environmental governance "should" be adjusted in a global economy.
Publications
- Wackernagel, Mathis, Niels B. Schulz, Diana Deumling, Alejandro Callejas Linares, Martin Jenkins, Valerie Kapos, Jonathan Loh, Norman Myers, Richard B. Norgaard, Jorgen Randers, and Chad Monfreda. 2002. Tracking the Ecological Overshoot of the Human Economy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99:9266-9271. (July 9)
- Norgaard, Richard B. 2002. Optimists, Pessimists, and Science. BioScience 52:287-92.
- Norgaard, Richard B.2002. Economic and Alternative Models for Decision-Making and Valuation. (In Japanese). Chapter 4 In Jin Sato(ed).Social Methods of Environmental Studies. Tokyo. Tokyo University Press.
|
Progress 01/01/01 to 12/31/01
Outputs
Using a Salop model augmented to include the costs of pollution, pollution control, and governance, we have explored how changes in governance costs affect pollution control and pollution levels. Using a model of just two countries engaged in trade has allowed us to explore the conditions under which technological change and trade can lead to shifts in environmental governance regimes that favor, or not, the production of pollution intensive goods.
Impacts
This research can reduce the debate between those favoring trade and other forms of global change and those concerned about the environment by providing a conceptual framework that includes the concerns of both sides.
Publications
- Norgaard, R., Kojima, M., 2001. Trade and Environmental Governance: Theory and the American Experience. Framing the Pacific in the 21st Century: Coexistence and Friction. Yui, D. and Endo, Y. (eds). Center for Pacific and American Studies. The University of Tokyo.
- Norgaard, R., Scholz, J., Trainor, S.. 2001. Values, Valuing Processes, and Valuation. In van Ierland, E van der Straaten, J., Vollebergh, H. (eds). Economic Growth and Valuation of the Environment. Edward Elgar. Cheltenham, U.K.
- Norgaard, R. 2001. The Improvisation of Discordant Knowledges. In Cleveland, C., Costanza, R., Stern , D. (eds). The Nature of Economics and the Economics of Nature. Cheltenham, U.K. Edward Elgar.
|
Progress 01/01/00 to 12/31/00
Outputs
A Salop model consists of firms and consumers situated on the circumference of a circle. As transportation costs decrease, the optimal number of firms decreases and the market share of each firm increases. This is a reasonable first approximation of the nature of globalization. We have augmented the Salop model to include pollution control costs, pollution costs to the public, and costs of governance. This allows us to explore the relations between increased trade, the level of pollution, and the effectiveness of environmental governance. Going beyond earlier numeric analysis, we developed analytical solutions to this model, allowing a more powerful and far ranging exploration of the conditions affecting the gains and losses from globalization.
Impacts
This project provides a formal basis for thinking across the interests of trade and environmental advocates, assisting in the resolution of the conflicts, and helping to avoid the costs of conflict and losses of inappropriate and/or delayed appropriate policy.
Publications
- Berger, J., Ostrom, E., Norgaard, R., Policansky, D., Goldstein, B. (eds). 2000. Protecting the Commons: A Framework for Resource Management in the Americas. Island Press. Washington, D. C.
- Norgaard, R. 2000. Growth, Globalization, and the Agenda of Ecological Economics. In Munasinghe M., Sunkel, O., and de Miguel, C. (eds). The Sustainability of Long Term Growth: Socioeconomic and Ecological Perspectives. Cheltenham, U.K. Edward Elgar.
|
|