On licensing and diffusion of clean technologies in oligopoly

Clean technologies implemented by polluters subject to environmental regulation are often developed and patented by specialized technology suppliers. This paper investigates the impact of the environmental regulation stringency on the diffusion of patented clean technologies when the polluters (i.e. the potential licensees) compete in imperfectly competitive markets. We show that the polluters' willingness to pay for clean technology and the diffusion of such technology (i.e. the extent to which it is privately disseminated through licensing) depend not only on the regulatory stringency and the technological efficiency, but also on the polluters' competitive environments. More stringent regulations (e.g., higher carbon taxes) or increased technological efficiency (e.g., supported by more R&D subsidies) do not necessarily induce more diffusion of efficient clean technologies. Indeed, as the returns to implementing a clean technology increase, so do the technology supplier's incentives to sell fewer licenses so as to extract more rent from each of its licensees

On the Pigouvian Tax Rule in an Open Economy: Opening the Gate to the Eco-industry

This note investigates the impact of (international) technology transfer on optimal pollution taxation. To use a patented pollution abatement technology, the polluters subject to the emissions tax only pay fixed license fees to an (international) eco-industry (whose profits are shared among national and foreign suppliers). The second-best emissions tax is shown to decrease as the exogenous share of imported technology increases. When the domestic polluting industry is imperfectly competitive, this tax is always lower than the marginal damage. In contrast, when the polluting industry is perfectly competitive, the second-best emissions tax is lower than the marginal damage only in the case of incoming technology transfer. If the technology is transferred domestically, the second-best emissions tax is equal to the marginal damage. These results contrast with the literature on the impact of market power in the eco-industry on optimal policy design, initiated by David and Sinclair-Desgagné (2005)

Female Genital Mutilation: A Matter That Must Be Stopped!

I was in high school when I was chosen by the president of my high school to represent my school for a convention dedicated to young girls and women. The main topic was on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and I was very surprised to know that such thing is happening in the world and precisely in my country, Niger. After the convention, I was very uncomfortable the whole time till I got home. My mom asked me how the convention went because she knew how excited I was about representing my school. I just nodded and answered that it was fine. She gazed at me and asked what was bothering me. I remembered breaking down before even saying anything. She held me against her, and insisted I share my frustration. I, then, told her about FGM, the causes, the consequences, and all its implications I was taught at the convention. I was shocked when her answer was “ I am a victim of circumcision too.” I felt like the whole world around me was going to crumble under my feet. I could feel this huge anger in my chest. I asked her what happened because I wanted to know who were those people who harmed my mother. That is when she told me about her story, which I will narrate later on. In this paper, I will give an overview of FGM. I will first talk about the history around it, then, give some background information and connect it to Human Rights issues. I will bring up some failed attempt to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation. Finally, I will give some critics around the subject and an alternative solution to the issue

Master of Science

thesisInternational community's commitment to achieve universal primary education triggered an increase in primary school enrollment in the developing world. Unfortunately, this increase in quantity (the number of students) led to the emergence of very big class sizes, multigrade, and double-shift schooling. Accordingly, this study fills a hole in the literature by investigating the impact of multigrade classrooms and doubleshifts on the dropout rate in Mali. Simultaneously, it also examines the impact of not completing the curriculum required on student test scores. Some surprising and interesting results show that schools that have libraries are less expected to have dropouts compared to schools that do not. I also found strong evidence that schools that do not collect fees on a consistent basis are likely to have higher dropout rates compared to schools that do