Age Dynamics and Economic Growth: Revisiting the Nexus in a Nonparametric Setting.

This paper explores the relationship between the growth rates of per capita income and age- structured population in a non-parametric setting. Analysis in this framework provides us with new insights about the interaction structure: significant non-linear relation between the two and interesting ’direct’ and ’feedback’ effects on growth. Nonlinearity is found to be a major source of growth fluctuations in OECD and non-OECD countries.Age dynamics, Economic growth, Non-parametric panel.

A consistent nonparametric estimation of spatial autocovariances

We examine some aspects of estimating sample autocovariances for spatial processes. Especially, we note that for such processes, it is not possible to approximate the expectation by the sample mean, like in the case of time series data. Then, we propose a consistent nonparametric estimation of sample autocovariances for an irregularly scattered spatial process, derived from a transformation of the initial process. We also suggest an L_2-consistent weighting matrix. Monte Carlo simulations are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed estimators in finite samples.

Economic Growth and CO2 Emissions: a Nonparametric Approach

This paper examines the empirical interplay between economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions using panel data.Relying on nonparametric methods, we find evidence supporting specifications which assume the constancy of the relationship between per capita CO2 emissions and per capita GDP during the period of the study. Moreover, the usually adopted polynomial functional form is rejected against our nonparametric modelling. It is shown that the relationship between gas emissions and GDP displays more complex patterns, despite its monotonous shape, than the well-known Kuznets curve obtained from ad hoc parametric specifications. The economic development process has a negative effect on gas emissions, especially for the early and the advanced stages of development. As a result, developed countries as well as developing countries should make efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.CO2 emissions; Economic development; Environmental Kuznets curve; Nonparametric estimation; Panel data

Economic Development and CO2 Emissions: A Nonparametric Panel Approach

We examine the empirical relation between CO2 emissions per capita and GDP per capita during the period 1960-1996, using a panel of 100 countries. Relying on the nonparametric poolability test of Baltagi et al. (1996), we find evidence of structural stability of the relationship. We then specify a nonparametric panel data model with country-specific effects. Estimation results show that this relationship is upward sloping. Nonparametric specification tests do not reject monotonicity but do reject the polynomial functional form which leads to the environmental Kuznets curve in several studies. --Environmental Kuznets curve,panel data,poolability test,mono- tonicity test,specification test

On the Inconsistency of the Ordinary Least Squares Estimator for Spatial Autoregressive Processes

This paper investigates the asymptotic properties of the ordinary least squares estimator for spatial autoregressive models. We show that this estimator is biased as well as inconsistent for the parameters regardless of the distribution of the error term. Illustrative examples are also provided.Consistency of OLS estimator; Spatial processes

Promoting clean technologies under imperfect competition

energy-saving technological progress, vintage capital, market imperfections, natural monopoly, investment subsidies

Estimation of Spatial Panel Data Models Using a Minimum Distance Estimator: Application

This paper is concerned with modelling and estimating panel data autoregressive spatial processes in the framework of minimum distance methods. A contiguity matrix based on distance between points relates observations spatially. The model is estimated in two stages. First, the cross-section parameters are consistently estimated by maximum likelihood, and a consistent asymptotic covariance matrix is computed for the second stage. Minimum distance estimators are derived under fixed slopes and all identical parameters restrictions. We used this specification to examine empirically spatial patterns of residential water demand for the French department of "Moselle", including electricity price effects.Minimum distance estimator, panel data, spatial dependence, water demand

Promoting clean technologies under imperfect competition

We develop a general equilibrium multi-sector vintage capital model with energy-saving technological progress and an explicit energy market to study the impact of investment subsidies on investment and output. Energy and capital are assumed to be complementary in the production process. New machines are less energy consuming and scrapping is endogenous. The intermediate inputs sector is modelled à la Dixit-Stiglitz (1977). Two polar market structures are considered for the energy market, free entry and natural monopoly. The impact of imperfect competition on the outcomes of the decentralized equilibria are deeply characterized. We identify an original paradox: adoption subsidies may induce a larger investment into cleaner technologies either under free entry or natural monopoly. However, larger diffusion rates do not necessarily mean lower energy consumption at equilibrium, which may explain certain empirical puzzles.Energy-saving technological progress; vintage capital; market imperfections; natural monopoly; investment subsidies

Determinants of Environmental and Economic Performance of Firms: An Empirical Analysis of the European Paper Industry

This paper examines the relationship between the environmental and economic performance of firms in the European paper manufacturing industry. Based on panel data, it first investigates the relationship separately, with the analysis based on four hypotheses formulated with regard to country influence, process influence and firm size influence on environmental and economic performance. Hypotheses are tested using pooled regression and a panel regression framework with random firm and temporal effects. The main results of this analysis based on separated regressions are that (i) only for a direct comparison between the UK and Germany, country effects are found to be consistent with the hypotheses, i.e. German firms have better environmental, but worse economic performance than UK firms, (ii) there is a significant sub-sector effect on environmental performance only, (iii) effectively no significant firm size effect can be detected. Subsequent to analysing the relationship separately, the paper estimates the determinants of the relationship between environmental and economic performance using three simultaneous equations systems. It was found that for the system with return on sales as economic performance variable, and an environmental performance index as environmental performance variable, a significant and positive regression coefficient was estimated for the asset-turnover ratio, as well as significant and negative coefficients for the dummy variables representing the industrial and mixed sub-sector. For the system with return on capital employed and the environmental index, significant and positive coefficients were found for the latter, both linear and squared. This last finding fits better with "traditionalist" reasoning about the relationship between environmental and economic performance, which predicts the relationship to be uniformly negative.Economic performance; Environmental performance; Paper industry; Simultaneous equations system; Three-error-components model

A Switching Regression Approach to Spatial Patterns in Residential Water Demand

This study explores spatial regimes variation and the impact of public sector wa ter pricing for municipality aggregate residential water demand including electricity price effe cts. I compare estimations from two cross-sections (1988.1 and 1993.1) on a French lattice samp le, and propose a parametric spatial autoregressive regime switching model where water a verage price is approximated by a linear spline based on nonparametric regressions. I f ind evidence of spatial dependence. Consumers respond to both water and electricity average p rice. Changes in electricity price induce modifications of water consumption distribut ion according to patterns of water use. Public sector pricing results in shifts of role in reg imes between periods.Linear spline, public water pricing, spatial regim