Public environmental expenditures in time of crisis in Estonia.Eesti avaliku sektori keskkonnakulutused majanduskriisi perioodil

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact from the recent financial crisis on public environmental expenditure in Estonia. The data show different tendencies depending on the level of government. While the recent financial crisis has affected Local Government spending on environmental protection negatively, Central Government environmental protection expenditure increased by more than 30 percent between 2007 and 2008. Preliminary data indicate that this tendency continued in 2009. When comparing expenditures on environmental protection during times of crisis it is possible to detect differences between the developments in 1998-1999 and those in 2007-2008. Public expenditures on environmental protection were much more sensitive to declining GDP during the previous financial crisis than during the recent crisis. In the 2000s two important changes have affected environmental funding in Estonia. Accession to the EU in 2004 has made EU funding available for environmental protection. The ecological tax reform introduced in 2005 has increased the revenues of environmental charges earmarked for environmental purpose

The foregone recreation value of Lake Ülemiste. Ülemiste järve kaotatud rekreatiivne väärtus

Since Soviet times Lake Ülemiste has been closed to public access. The current practice of Tallinn may entail unnecessary losses of benefits to the local population. The aim of this paper is to find the value of the foregone benefits. In order to find this value, a contingent valuation (CVM) survey was conducted involving a sample of the adult population of Tallinn. According to the survey the average willingness to pay is 6.6 Euro and the recreational benefits foregone were estimated to 1.8 million Euros annually. In order to safeguard the quality of the drinking water, additional measures may be needed. Discounted over a 30 year period allows investments of a maximum of 26 million Euro. Applying the current investment plan of Gothenburg to Tallinn shows that the recreational value of opening the lake to the public is sufficiently large to cover Gothenburg’s coal filter investments to be carried out in Tallinn

Regulatory Measures to Reduce the Impact of Old Cars on Air Quality

From the perspective of economic efficiency there are obvious advantages of regional differentiation of regulatory measures instead of relying on nationally uniform regulation, which is due to the fact that adverse health impacts, as well as other negative externalities, such as environmental damage and congestion, vary between locations. One conclusion of the analysis is that ranking of economic instruments depends on whether regulation is imposed nationally or regionally. Another implication is that if road pricing is not pos­sible to implement locally, then command and control need to be considered.air quality standards, road pricing, vehicle taxes, scrapping subsidy, economic efficiency

Public environmental expenditures in time of crisis in Estonia.Eesti avaliku sektori keskkonnakulutused majanduskriisi perioodil

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact from the recent financial crisis on public environmental expenditure in Estonia. The data show different tendencies depending on the level of government. While the recent financial crisis has affected Local Government spending on environmental protection negatively, Central Government environmental protection expenditure increased by more than 30 percent between 2007 and 2008. Preliminary data indicate that this tendency continued in 2009. When comparing expenditures on environmental protection during times of crisis it is possible to detect differences between the developments in 1998-1999 and those in 2007-2008. Public expenditures on environmental protection were much more sensitive to declining GDP during the previous financial crisis than during the recent crisis. In the 2000s two important changes have affected environmental funding in Estonia. Accession to the EU in 2004 has made EU funding available for environmental protection. The ecological tax reform introduced in 2005 has increased the revenues of environmental charges earmarked for environmental purpose

Public environmental expenditures in Estonia during 1995-2011

The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of earmarking on central government environment protection expenditure. Since central government spending for the environment relies on earmarked revenues, which is not the case of the local government, it is expected that central government expenditure is to a lesser degree affected by macroeconomic developments. The analysis indicates that this is the case because correlation between GDP change and the change in central government expenditure for environment protection is smaller than that of the local government. It is also found that increasing revenues from earmarked environmental charges have contributed to growing expenditure. However, the analysis also suggests that the main driver of this growth is the expansion is EU funds. Reliance on EU expenditure was further reinforced by changes in earmarking rules in 2008-200

The dilemma of environmental taxation – case study of Estonia. Keskkonna maksustamise dilemma Eesti näitel

Environmental tax rhetoric in the Estonian policy discussion leads to a dilemma. Policy makers want to increase environmental charges for budgetary reasons and at the same time achieve environmental goals. The article examines the empirics of this issue, i.e. whether pollution charges have been successful as a fiscal or as an environmental instrument. By index analysis the authors find that pollution charges were fiscally successful in the beginning of the 2000’s and have since 2004 been successful environmental taxes. The proposition that environmental charges do not cover the damage costs of pollution is also under investigation. It is found that the damage cost estimates have incorrectly been interpreted as average costs. The implication is that the damage costs which have been used as evidence for increasing pollution charges are incorrect and that the over-estimation of damages is in the order of a magnitude of two or more

A study of People’s Preferences of the Environmental Status of Lake Harku and the Benefits Offered by the Lake and Its Surrounding

The article examines the demand of people for the improvement of the condition Lake Harku. Lake Harku is located in a densely populated area on the border of the city of Tallinn and it is in a poor state as a water body according to the EU classification. Two stated preference methods, contingent valuation (CV) and choice experiment (CE), were used for assessing the monetary value people place on the improvement of the ecosystem services of the lake as non-market environmental goods. The results of the work confirmed there is significant willingness to pay for the improvement of the condition of the water body. From a methodological point of view, an important finding is that the CV method yielded lower result than the estimated payment option of the CE

The Impact of EU Cohesion policy on environmental sector sustainability in the Baltic states

Straipsnio tikslas yra įvertinti Europos Sąjungos sanglaudos politikos fondų investavimo planų tvarumą Estijos, Latvijos ir Lietuvos aplinkai 2007–2013 m. biudžetiniu laikotarpiu. Teorinės literatūros analizė rodo, kad tvarioms investicijoms nustatyti taikomas efektyvumo kriterijus, t.y. kaštų-naudos taisyklė. Bet atsižvelgus į sunkumus, autoriai taikė laipsnišką tvarumo įvertinimą. Ekonominis efektyvumas buvo vertinamas taikant kaštų-naudos taisyklę. Antrame žingsnyje autoriai taikė aplinkos veiklos indeksą kaip papildomą indikatorių norint patikrinti, ar kritinės investicijų į aplinkos sektorių sritys nebuvo praleistos. Siekiant įvertinti visas prioritetines temas, jos buvo suklasifikuotos į keturias sritis, o pastarosios priskirtos kategorijoms pagal tai, kiek jos susijusios su tvarumu. Pagrindinė išvada yra ta, kad Baltijos šalys skiria mažiausiai investicijų toms aplinkos sektoriaus sritims, kurios yra labiausiai susiję su tvarumu, t.y. prevencinėms priemonėms, bioįvairovei ir išteklių produktyvumui. Investicijos į geriamą vandenį buvo įvertintos kaip per didelės iš tvarumo perspektyvos. Kita išvada yra, kad trys Baltijos valstybės, turėdamos labai panašią naujausią istoriją, ekonominį išsivystymą ir gamtinę aplinką, nusistatė labai skirtingus prioritetus. Estijoje indėlis į aplinkos sektorių yra didžiausias vienam gyventojui ir ji taip pat daugiausia investuoja į sritis, labiausiai artimas tvarumui. Lietuvoje žemiausias finansavimas vienam gyventojui, bet jos pozicija geresnė nei Latvijos, kalbant apie sritis, susijusias su tvarumu.This article analyses investment from European Union cohesion policy funds into the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian environmental sectors during the budget period 2007-2013. Total investment from these funds in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania during that period will be about 14.7 billion euros, of which about 18 percent covers the environmental sector. The purpose is to analyse whether allocation of expenditure to the environment is sustainable. In their analysis the authors apply sustainability criteria based on the cost-benefit rule and the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The main finding is that the Baltic States allocate least environmental funds to those fields found to be most relevant to sustainability

The impact of EU Cohesion policy on environmental sector sustainability in the Baltic states

This article analyses investment from European Union cohesion policy funds into the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian environmental sectors during the budget period 2007-2013. Total investment from these funds in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania during that period will be about 14.7 billion euros, of which about 18 percent covers the environmental sector. The purpose is to analyse whether allocation of expenditure to the environment is sustainable. In their analysis the authors apply sustainability criteria based on the cost-benefit rule and the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The main finding is that the Baltic States allocate least environmental funds to those fields found to be most relevant to sustainability.environmental investment, EU funding, sustainability