Does Efficient Irrigation Technology Lead to Reduced Groundwater Extraction?: Empirical Evidence

Policies that encourage the use of more efficiency irrigation technology are often viewed as effective, politically feasible methods to reduce the consumptive use of water for agricultural production. Despite their widespread use, these policies have not been subject to empirical evaluation. In this article, we evaluate the effect on groundwater extraction of a widespread conversion from traditional center pivot irrigation systems to higher efficiency dropped-nozzle center pivot systems that has occurred in western Kansas. State and national cost-share programs subsidized the conversion. We find that the programs have not had the intended effect; the shift to more efficient irrigation technology has not decreased the amount of water applied to a given crop, and has actually increased groundwater extraction through changing cropping patterns.irrigation efficiency, groundwater management, irrigation technology, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

The Effects of Driving Restrictions on Air Quality: São Paulo, Bogotá, Beijing, and Tianjin

In a typical driving restriction, vehicle use is restricted based on the vehicle’s license plate; one cannot drive vehicles with certain license plate numbers on certain days. Driving restrictions have been used as a method to reduce urban air pollution or traffic congestion because they are easy and inexpensive to implement. We investigate whether driving restrictions introduced in São Paulo, Bogotá, Beijing and Tianjin have improved air quality. Across different versions of the driving restrictions there is no evidence that the overall air quality at different places has been improved. However, several important results show up in this extensive analysis. Temporal shifting of driving is likely to appear when the restrictions are only effective during certain hours of weekdays. Driving restrictions could potentially reduce the extreme concentrations of air pollutants. Driving restrictions can only be expected to alleviate air pollution when implemented with an extended schedule or in an extended region. The effects of the driving restrictions are primarily on the concentrations of CO and PM10.driving restriction, air quality, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Ethanol Plant Investment in Canada: A Structural Model

Most of the fuel ethanol plants in Canada were built recently and either use corn or wheat as feedstock. It is important to determine what factors affect decisions about when and where to invest in building new ethanol plants and which feedstock is chosen as feedstock. In this paper we model the decision to invest in ethanol plants using a structural model of a dynamic game. We find that competition between plants is enough to deter local investments, the availability of feedstock is important in determining plant location, and the effects of policy support for wheat-based plants are significant

The Elasticity of Demand for Gasoline in China

This paper estimates the price and income elasticities of demand for gasoline in China. Our estimates of the intermediate-run price elasticity of gasoline demand range between -0.497 and -0.196, and our estimates of the intermediate-run income elasticity of gasoline demand range between 1.01 and 1.05. We also extend previous studies to estimate the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) elasticity and obtain a range from -0.882 to -0.579

The Effects of Urban Public Transit Investment on Traffic Congestion and Air Quality

Traffic congestion is ubiquitous across urban roadways, and the adverse health effects accompanying deteriorating air quality are an ongoing concern. Beyond these local effects, transportation is also a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions and is thus a significant element of the climate change debate. A contentious issue currently confronting transportation analysts and policy-makers is what the effects of public transit investment on traffic congestion and on air quality are and therefore what the appropriate level of public transit investment should be. While public transit receives plenty of political support for its “green” reputation and its contribution to sustainability, there have been relatively few studies examining the ex post–effects of public transit investment on traffic congestion or air quality. In this chapter, we review our theoretical and empirical research on the effects of public transit investment on congestion, the demand for automobile travel, and air quality

Endogeneity in the Environmental Kuznets Curve: An Instrumental Variables Approach

The effects of increasing income on environmental quality is an issue that has long puzzled economists. For over a decade, economists have theorized that a graph of environmental degradation versus income often looks something approximating an inverted-U shape, dubbed the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) after Simon Kuznets’ work in the 1950s and 1960s on income equality (Kuznets 1955, 1965)

The Design of Renewable Fuel Policies and Cost Containment Mechanisms

Renewable fuel mandates are popular policy mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels. We study the effects and effciency of two policies, a renewable share mandate and a carbon intensity standard, with and without a cost containment mechanism. Using both a theory model of a regulated fuel industry and a numerical model of the U.S. fuel market, we show that an optimally set mandate leads to only modest welfare gains over business as usual. However, the effciency of both policies substantially increases when combined optimally with a cost containment mechanism

Ethanol plant investment in Canada: A structural model 1

Most of the fuel ethanol plants in Canada were built recently and either use corn or wheat as feedstock. It is important to determine what factors affect decisions about when and where to invest in building new ethanol plants and which feedstock is chosen as feedstock. In this paper we model the decision to invest in ethanol plants using a structural model of a dynamic game. We find that competition between plants is enough to deter local investments, the availability of feedstock is important in determining plant location, and the effects of policy support for wheatbased plants are significant

Increasing background ozone in surface air over the United States

The long-term trend of background O3 in surface air over the United States from 1980 to 1998 is examined using monthly probability distributions of daily maximum 8-hour average O3 concentrations at a large ensemble of rural sites. Ozone concentrations have decreased at the high end of the probability distribution (reflecting emission controls) but have increased at the low end. The cross-over takes place between the 30th and 50th percentiles in May–August and between the 60th and 90th percentiles during the rest of the year. The increase is statistically significant at a 5% level in spring and fall, when it is 3–5 ppbv. The maximum increase is in the Northeast. A possible explanation is an increase in the O3 background transported from outside the United States. Better understanding of the causes of the increase is needed because of its implications for meeting O3 air quality standards