Environmental policy in a differentiated market with a green network effect

We examine the impact of a “green network effect” in a market characterized by consumers' environmental awareness and competition between firms in both environmental quality and product prices. The unique aspect of this model comes from the assumption that an increase in the number of consumers of the green product increases the satisfaction of each green consumer. We show that this externality raises the consumption of the green product, reduces the environmental quality of products and improves welfare, even if it doesn't affect the overall level of pollution. The externality correction requires using three optimal fiscal policies: an ad valorem tax on products, an emission tax, and a subsidy of the green purchase. A second-best optimum can also be reached through the green taxation.

Environmental tax in a green market

We examine the impact of an emission tax in a green market characterized by consumers' environmental awareness and competition between firms for both environmental quality and product prices. The unique aspect of this model comes from the assumption that the cost for an increase in quality is fixed. We show that the emission tax improves welfare, thanks to a decline in pollution and despite an accentuation of product differentiation. The higher the marginal environmental damage is, the higher the optimal tax will be. The optimal tax, however, becomes lower than the marginal damage when the market is not too large. Finally, when marginal environmental damage is not too low, the optimal tax leads to a green product monopoly.

On production costs in vertical differentiation models

In this paper, we analyse the effects of the introduction of a unit production cost beside a fixed cost of quality improvement in a duopoly model of vertical product differentiation. Thanks to an original methodology, we show that a low unit cost tends to reduce product differentiation and thus prices, whereas a high unit cost leads to widen product differentiation and to increase prices

On production costs in vertical differentiation models

In this paper, we analyse the effects of the introduction of a unit production cost beside a fixed cost of quality improvement in a duopoly model of vertical product differentiation. Thanks to an original methodology, we show that a low unit cost tends to reduce product differentiation and thus prices, whereas a high unit cost leads to widen product differentiation and to increase price

Incitation à innover et taxe environnementale : le rôle de la conscience écologique

L'objet de cet article est de relier les préférences des consommateurs pour les produits verts, les décisions d'investissement dans la recherche et le développement d'une industrie polluante et l'optimalité de la taxation de ses émissions polluantes dans le cadre des jeux en trois étapes entre les régulateurs et les entreprises de deux pays (choix des taxes, course à l'innovation et concurrence sur le marché du bien). Nous mettons en perspectives différentes hypothèses sur les préférences des consommateurs (produits vert et standard homogènes ou différenciés) et les stratégies des entreprises (concurrence en quantité ou en prix). Sans développer ces modèles, nous analysons chaque étape des jeux pour conclure sur l'importance du rôle de la conscience écologique des consommateurs dans la détermination de la politique environnementale optimale.

Plans de déplacements urbains et capitalisation immobilière : le cas des appartements de l'agglomération nantaise.

En France, les Plans de Déplacements Urbains (PDU) visent à favoriser la mobilité pour tous et à trouver un équilibre entre la voiture, les transports collectifs et les autres modes de transport, avec la volonté de promouvoir une mobilité durable. Quelle satisfaction les habitants des pôles urbains tirent-ils de telles politiques ? Dans cet article, nous essayons de répondre à cette question pour les habitants de Nantes Métropole, à travers une analyse de la capitalisation immobilière de divers effets des politiques de transport urbain. En utilisant la méthode des prix hédoniques, nous montrons que les prix immobiliers ne sont pas déterminés uniquement par les caractéristiques intrinsèques des appartements et de leur environnement socio-économique, mais aussi par une meilleure accessibilité. Selon la localisation de l'appartement et le transport collectif utilisé, une meilleure accessibilité au centre apporte des effets contrastés. La pollution de l'air est perçue comme une source de nuisance par les ménages, mais seulement au-delà d'un certain seuil. L'exposition au bruit constitue également une source de désutilité

Consumer Preferences for Eco, Health and Fair Trade Labels. An Application to Seafood Product in France

How are consumer attitudes towards eco-labeled products affected by a profusion of labels? This article provides both theoretical and empirical insight into this issue. Assuming that consumers perceive a label both as a sign of quality and of a particular characteristic of a product, we deduce theoretical determinants for preferences for three types of label: a health label, an eco-label and a fair trade label. Using a French survey on seafood products, the estimation of a rank-ordered multinomial logit with random intercepts shows a certain proximity between the profiles of pro-eco-label and pro-fair trade label consumers, whereas pro-health label individuals have a more distinct profile: The two former are more likely to be young men mainly concerned with fishing conditions, whereas the latter are older married women with children who pay attention to the product form. We relate preferences for labels to degree of altruism, environmental consciousness and other socio-economic features.Environmental preferences ; contingent choice ; eco-label ; seafood.

Pricing and quality investments in a mixed brown-green product market

Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) has assumed a position of prominence for academics and industry over the last two decades. The sustainability literature shows that typically manufacturers aim to optimize their pricing and greening level decisions in a mixed (green and brown) consumer market. In this work, we capture a manufacturer’s classic dilemma on the pricing of green and brown products, and greening investments, while subject to budget constraint. We compute and analyze the variations of optimal decisions over time. Our findings underscore the importance of investing in greening technologies and learning for the survival of green products. Furthermore, we show that a manufacturer’s optimal pricing strategy is to enter the market with a lower price for the green product and to increase it over time, eventually, surpassing the price for the brown product. Our analysis reveals that the greening level attraction can nullify the effect of a high price on the green product, resulting in higher green demand than brown. Higher green product demand is a win-win situation for both the manufacturer and the environment

Green intentions under the blue flag: Exploring differences in EU consumers’ willingness to pay more for environmentally-friendly products

Recent research on consumer social responsibility highlights the need to examine psychological drivers of environmentally-friendly consumption choices in a global context. This paper investigates consumers’ willingness to pay more (WTP) for environmentally-friendly products across 28 European Union (EU) countries, using a sample of 21,514 consumers. A Multigroup Structural Equation Modeling analysis reveals significantly different patterns and relationships, in how (a) subjective knowledge about the product’s environmental impact, (b) environmental product attitudes and (c) the perceived importance of the products’ environmental impact influence consumers’ WTP more for environmentally-friendly products across countries. The hypothesized model predicts WTP for 20 out of 28 countries and the findings show that a ‘one-fits-all’ approach is inadequate in capturing the heterogeneity of EU consumers. Hosfstede’s cultural dimensions of uncertainty tolerance and individualism explain differences in WTP for environmentally-friendly products across EU countries. Business, marketing communications, and policy making implications are discussed

Une note sur la taxation ad valorem des produits polluants sur un marché vert

This article studies the effects of a commodity tax on consumption and production behaviours in a green market and its implications for welfare components. The analysis rests on a review of vertical differentiation models assuming an ecological awareness of consumers. We distinguish two classes of models according to the assumption adopted on cost function of polluting firms. We show that an ad valorem tax decreases product differentiation and prices. Nevertheless, it reduces the consumers? surplus and the firms? profits and it increases the environmental damage. Only a lump sum redistribution of tax revenue may improve welfare. Classification JEL : D62, H21, L13, Q58