87 research outputs found
Macroeconomic Effects of Oil Price Fluctuations on Emerging and Developed Economies in a Model Incorporating Monetary Variables
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Energy security, public policy, and the role of the DOE Office of Energy Emergencies
This paper addresses the concept of energy security, the costs and benefits of energy security, and policies which could potentially alter these costs and benefits. These issues are considered from the perspective of the DOE's Office of Energy Emergencies, with the goal of determining if alternative or additional roles should be open to this Office. The approach taken is limited to the economic costs and benefits of energy security, reflecting our view that the bulk of important energy security issues can at least be approached from this perspective. An energy emergency results from a sudden change in the quantity, market price, and/or social value of energy, in combination with a domestic and/or world wide energy system that cannot rapidly adjust to that change. We do not believe that mitigating the impacts of such events is always necessary, nor that it is uniquely a governmental responsibility. In fact, the first recourse in emergency preparedness should always be to the private sector. Government should deal with three different aspects of emergency energy activities. First, it should condition the decision making environment by seeing that adequate information about energy conditions is available and that its own policy position is clear. Next, it should evaluate the preparedness measures undertaken by the private sector. Finally, if it finds private sector preparation to be inadequate, government has a variety of direct and indirect means with which to intervene. One direct measure currently used is the buildup and drawdown of the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR). Others include contingency plans to override market allocations during wartime, as might be developed under the graduated mobilization response (GMR). Indirect means include a variety of tax and transfer schemes that alter existing private sector incentives to prepare. Well conceived monetary and fiscal policies complete the tools. 1 fig., 1 tab
An Assessment of the EPA's SO2 Emission Allowance Tracking System
On November 8, 1996, various Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials, scholars and industry representatives gathered at Resources for the Future (RFF) to examine the EPA's method for classifying private SO2 allowance transactions by the Allowance Tracking System (ATS). The one-day workshop at RFF was designed to evaluate how well the EPA's classification scheme within the ATS currently meets the needs of constituencies with a vested interest in the allowance trading system, and to determine if other classifications would be more beneficial. The EPA has limited its collection of information to that which is necessary to ensure compliance with environmental goals. In particular, the EPA has interpreted its mission to be one of minimal interference in guiding the development of the allowance market and that its primary purpose is emission compliance and not the monitoring of transactions. Therefore, the goal of the ATS is to provide a central registry of recorded allowance transfers for the purpose of emission compliance. As a result, the ATS is unusual as a mechanism for monitoring market activity because it provides information about the buyer and seller of an allowance but does not provide price information. Furthermore, the EPA has limited its role so as not to exercise approval of individual allowance trades, and has excluded from consideration options for expanding the EPA's data collection effort. However, the EPA recognizes that the interests of Congress and the public extend beyond compliance with the environmental goals to include the development of allowance trading to help achieve these goals at the lowest possible cost. In addition, there is widespread interest in the development of SO2 emission allowance trading as a prototype for other potential trading programs, and the ATS provides a potential template for the oversight role of the environmental regulator in programs such as these. Therefore, another goal of the workshop at RFF was to assess how well the ATS performs in promoting the development of allowance trading in general, and with respect to the interests and needs of each of the constituencies interested in the SO2 allowance trading program. This discussion paper incorporates observations, suggestions and concerns expressed during this workshop. Furthermore, this discussion paper concludes with recommendations regarding the EPA's current classification methodology
Fossil-Fuel Dependence and Vulnerability of Electricity Generation: Case of Selected European Countries
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