The reform of the European Energy Tax Directive: does data disaggregation matter? The Italian case

In 2011, the European Commission (EC) proposed a new version of the Energy Taxation Directive (ETD), a tax affecting the price of energy products. The main aim was to increase the effectiveness of the instrument through stronger fiscal pressure and to coordinate the environmental taxation with the Emissions Trade System (ETS) introduced in 2005. However, in May 2012 the European Parliament did not approve the reform. Italy, already characterized by high energy taxation rates, has recently expressed a commitment to increase the use of environmental taxation by explicitly referring to the amendments proposed by the EC in 2011. This study analyzes the effect of the 2011 ETD reform on prices in Italy, if it were implemented. The main finding is that the new tax regime would have a low impact on prices. This result implies that the reform would not significantly orient consumption and production towards more environmentally friendly patterns

Microfinance institutions and efficiency

Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) are special financial institutions. They have both a social nature and a for-profit nature. Their performance has been traditionally measured by means of financial ratios. The paper uses a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach to efficiency to show that ratio analysis does not capture DEA efficiency.Special care is taken in the specification of the DEA model. We take a methodological approach based on multivariate analysis. We rank DEA efficiencies under different models and specifications; e.g., particular sets of inputs and outputs. This serves to explore what is behind a DEA score. The results show that we can explain MFIs efficiency by means of four principal components of efficiency, and this way we are able to understand differences between DEA scores. It is shown that there are country effects on efficiency; and effects that depend on Non-governmental Organization (NGO)/non-NGO status of the MFI

Responsibility and trade emission balance: an evaluation of approaches

This paper compares two concepts to evaluate the international responsibility of a country with respect to its emissions. Using a multi-regional input-output model, we show that the trade emission balance and the responsibility emission balance yield the same result. In practical work, however, a lack of data availability implies that the same technology assumption has been commonly adopted. In that case, also a third alternative exists, which simply evaluates the emissions embodied in the trade balance of the country. This third alternative yields the same results as the other two approaches at the aggregate level. At the level of individual products, however, the results are clearly different and it turns out that the third alternative answers a different question. That is, it is appropriate for measuring the emission content of the products that cross the border. In our empirical application, we consider Spain in 1995 and 2000, distinguishing nine different gases: CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6, HFCs, PFCs, SO2, NOx, and NH3

Lights and shadows of household satellite accouonts: the case of Catalonia, Spain

The construction of Household Satellite Accounts (HSAs) to value household production is not a new object of study. However, as their use has widened, research efforts have focused on resolving technical aspects of valuation assessment and far less attention has been paid to the underlying conceptual aspects. The purpose of this study is to contribute to improving the HSA as an analytical tool. Two approaches are proposed, drawing on existing data from Catalonia, Spain. The first approach involves incorporating the analysis of time as a key component of HSAs, making it possible to explore aspects of unpaid housework without the influence of monetary valuation. The second develops a new methodology that captures information on both housework and market work, overcoming some of the limitations of current databases used in the calculation of HSAs and allowing an analysis of the various interrelationships that exist between the two types of work

Services trade contribution on global income generation (2000 - 2014)

This paper investigates the contribution of services trade to the variation of global income generation for the period of 2000 to 2014, applying a structural decomposition analysis in a global multi-regional input-output framework. We disentangle impacts of determinants of this variation for 56 sectors (of which, 29 are services) on a global level and on seven world regions, considering primary inputs, technology, components of final demand (private consumption, government expenditures and investment), trade and trade structure of both intermediate inputs and final products as drivers. Empirical findings suggest that overall, intermediate trade of services contributed to 5,38% of global income generation while final trade of services to 4,56% for the 15 years-period analyzed. This significant contribution seems to be explained mainly through the increase of demand of services as the negative effect of the structure of trade suggests that per unit of services traded, the value–added generated decreased over this period. At the sectoral level, wholesale trade, the financial sector, administrative and support services, legal and accounting services along with land transport appear to be the most important contributors of the services sectors through trade. Despite having northern European countries along with the BRIIC countries and the northern American ones as the most important contributors through services trade, when looking at the share of contribution of services trade of different groups relative to only their own total contribution, the eastern European countries is the group that makes it to the top

Technology of the preferences: linking consumption expenditures to value added with minimal information

The combination of consumption data from expenditure surveys with information contained in IO tables is a crucial step to structural change analysis. Herrendorf et al. (2013) focus the attention on applying a consistent definition of commodities on both the household and production sides —i.e. estimation of utility and production functions— when connecting models with data in any multisector general equilibrium model. The point of departure of these analyses consist, basically, on connecting the information on consumption made by households with the final demand vector (or matrix) present in the IO tables, which is then conveniently modified to produce the multipliers of interest. This process requires the construction of a concordance or bridge matrix to make this connection possible, since several issues affect the combination of these two data sources: differences in price valuation between consumption surveys and IO tables, the influence of taxes and margins or the different product classifications between these two frameworks make this combination a challenge for the researcher. ..

Income growth and atmospheric pollution in Spain: an input-output approach

The relationships between economic growth and environmental pressures are complex. Since the early nineties, the debate on these relationships has been strongly influenced by the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis,which states that during the first stage of economic development environmental pressures increase as per capita income increases, but once a critical turning-point has been reached these pressures diminish as income levels continue to increase. However, to date such a delinking between economic growth and emission levels has not happened for most atmospheric pollutants in Spain. The aim of this paper is to analyse the relationship between income growth and nine atmospheric pollutants in Spain. In order to obtain empirical outcomes for this analysis, we adopt an input-output approach and use NAMEA data for the nine pollutants. First, we undertake a structural decomposition analysis for the period 1995-2000 to estimate the contribution of various factors to changes in the levels of atmospheric emissions. And second, we estimate the emissions associated with the consumption patterns of different groups of households classified according to their level of expenditur

Income distributions in input-output models

The analysis of income distribution (ID) has traditionally been of prime importance for economists and policy-makers. However, the standard input-output (I-O) model is not particularly well equipped for studying current issues such as the consequences of decreasing access to primary inputs or the effects of specific redistributive policies. This paper addresses this gap in the existing literature. We propose that IDs can excellently be studied by restructuring the I-O relations. A new coefficients matrix is defined, the so-called augmented input coefficients matrix. This matrix is the sum of the intermediate input coefficients matrix and newly constructed matrices of sector-specific input coefficients that represent the existing distribution of income. We show that shifts in the distribution can be modelled by attributing weights to these matrices and vary these according to system-specific rules. Numerical illustrations based on the existing literature are given throughout the paper

Who pollutes more? Gender differences in consumptions patterns

Recent behavioral literature shows that we can identify differences between women and men in diverse domains in a general context, such as empathy, social preferences and reaction towards competitiveness, risk aversion, etc. Regarding the environment, recent studies propose that women have more knowledge and concern about the climate change than men. In this context, however, there is little evidence to what extend these behavioral differences between women and men have been translated into consumption actions more environmental friendly. Within this approach, this paper evaluates different environmental footprints of consumption patterns of women and men. As a case study, we examine Spain during the period 2008-2013. Using data from Spanish input-output tables, environmental air accounts, and household expenditure surveys for the same period, the study give evidence that gender differences take a relevant and significant position according to Weighted Least Square regression

The reform of the European Energy Tax Directive reform : effect on prices [WP]

[spa] Para hacer frente a los riesgos relacionados con la contaminación atmosférica, es ampliamente aceptada la necesidad de instrumentos de política encaminados a reducir las emisiones. La intervención tiene por objeto reducir las conductas contaminantes y incentivar una conducta más respetuosa y el uso de tecnologías más eficientes. La Unión Europea cuenta con dos importantes mecanismos económicos para el control de emisiones a escala europea: la directiva sobre los impuestos energéticos, un instrumento de fiscalidad ambiental aprobado en 2003 que afecta el precio de los productos energéticos, y el sistema de comercio de los derechos de emisiones, introducido en 2005, que afecta directamente a la cantidad de emisiones de CO2. En 2011, la Comisión Europea propuso una nueva versión de la directiva sobre los impuestos energéticos. El objetivo principal de la propuesta es aumentar la eficacia del instrumento a través de una mayor presión fiscal sobre los productos energéticos y de coordinar este instrumento de fiscalidad medioambiental con el sistema de comercio de los derechos de emisiones, para establecer una señal de precio de CO2 coherente para todos los sectores. Sin embargo, en mayo de 2012 el Parlamento Europeo bloqueó la propuesta de la nueva versión del impuesto, y el proceso de actualización se detuvo. La preocupación principal parecía ser el efecto de dicha propuesta en la competitividad, en particular para los sectores que serían los más afectados dado el uso intensivo de los productos energéticos, como el sector del transporte. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar el efecto que la reforma de la directiva sobre los impuestos energéticos podría tener sobre el nivel de precios, en particular en los países de la Unión Europea donde esta reforma implicaría un aumento de los impuestos energéticos. Utilizando datos del proyecto “World Input-Output Database”, la principal conclusión es que el nuevo sistema de impuestos energéticos tendría un impacto muy bajo sobre los precios. Por lo tanto, dado que los precios no serían fuertemente afectados por la reforma, no habrá inconvenientes para la competitividad y implicaciones en términos de distribución, pero, por otro lado, este resultado también implica una baja capacidad de esta reforma para provocar cambios en el consumo y la producción hacia menos presiones ambientales.[eng] To address risks related to atmospheric contamination, it is widely accepted the need for policy instruments aimed to reduce emissions. Policy intervention seeks to reduce polluting behaviours by encouraging a more respectful conduct and the use of more efficient technologies. The European Union (EU) counts with two important economic mechanisms for emission control at European level: the Energy Taxation Directive (ETD), an environmental taxation approved in 2003 that affects the price of energy products, and the Emissions Trade System (ETS), a cap and trade system introduced in 2005 that directly affects the CO2 emission quantity. In 2011, the European Commission (EC) proposed a new version of the ETD. The main aim of the proposal was to increase the effectiveness of the instrument through stronger fiscal pressure on energy products and to coordinate the environmental taxation with the ETS, establishing a comprehensive and consistent CO2 price signal for sectors not included in the EU-ETS. However, in May 2012 the European Parliament delivered a setback for the EC plans regarding the ETD and the process of updating stopped. The main worry seemed to be the effect of such proposal on competitiveness; in particular the concern regards sectors that would be mostly affected given the intensive use of energy products.The aim of this study is to analyse the effect that the 2011 ETD reform would have on the level of prices, if implemented, particularly in the EU countries where this reform would imply to increase energy taxes. Using data from the World Input Output Database (WIOD) project, the main finding is that the new energy tax regime would have a low impact on prices. Thus, since prices would not be strongly affected by the reform, there will be no drawbacks for competitiveness and distributional implication; but, on the other hand, this result will also imply a low capability of this reform to cause changes in consumption and production towards less environmental pressures