It’s One Climate Policy World Out There—Almost

In the run-up to the December 2009 Copenhagen climate conference, the authors surveyed members of the international development community with a special interest in climate change on three sets of detailed questions: (1) what action different country groups should take to limit climate change; (2) how much non-market funding there should be for emissions reductions and adaptation in developing countries, and how it should be allocated; and (3) which institutions should be involved in delivering climate assistance, and how the system should be governed. About 500 respondents from 88 countries completed the survey between November 19–24, 2009. About a third of the respondents grew up in developing countries, although some of them now live in developed countries. A broad majority of respondents from both developing and developed countries held very similar views on the responsibilities of the two different country groups, including on issues that have been very controversial in the negotiations. Most favored binding commitments now by developed countries, and commitments by 2020 by ‘advanced developing countries’ (Brazil, China, India, South Africa and others), limited use of offsets by developed countries, strict monitoring of compliance with commitments, and the use of trade measures (e.g. carbon-related tariffs) only in very narrow circumstances. Respondents from developing countries favored larger international transfers than those from developed countries, but the two groups share core ideas on how transfers should be allocated. Among institutional options for managing climate programs, a plurality of respondents from developed (48 percent) and developing (56 percent) countries preferred a UN-managed world climate fund, while many from both groups also embraced the UN Adaptation Fund’s approach, which is to accredit national institutions within countries which are eligible to manage implementation of projects that the Fund finances. Among approaches to governance, the most support went to the Climate Investment Fund model—of equal representation of developing and developed countries on the board.carbon; climate change; copenhagen; negotiations

Mines: The Local Welfare Effects of Mineral Mining in Developing Countries

Do residents of mining communities face health-wealth trade-offs? We conduct the first extensive investigation assessing this question using micro-data from communities near about 800 mineral mines in 44 developing countries. Mining communities enjoy a substantial medium term rise in asset wealth (0.3σ), but experience a nine percentage point increase in anemia among adult women, and a five percentage point increase in the prevalence of stunting in young children. Both of these health impacts have previously been linked to metal toxicity - and in particular, exposure to high levels of environmental lead. Benefits and costs are strongly concentrated in the immediate vicinity (5km) of the nearest mine. We find no systematic evidence of general ill health, and we observe health impacts only near mines of a type where lead pollution is to be expected. Identification is based on a mine-level and mother-level panel, and in the cross-section, on group effects. A novel instrumental variable serves as a cross-sectional robustness check. To make plausible that the observed health impacts are due to pollution, we develop difference-in-difference tests based on the known association of certain mine types with lead pollution, and based on the pathophysiology of lead toxicity. Our results represent the first comprehensive assessment of the local welfare impacts of mining in developing countries, and add to the evidence suggesting that communities near industrial centers in developing countries face information or cost constraints that limit their choice sets

Essays in Development and Environmental Economics

This dissertation discusses three questions of development and environmental economics. First, it assesses the impact of mineral mining on the health and wealth of households in local communities across 44 developing countries, using micro data. Secondly, it presents evidence from a randomized controlled trial on the cost-shared provision of well-water tests for arsenic. Finally, it analyzes measurement error in a satellite night light data product widely used in development research, and investigates the scope for using the data in very high spatial resolution

Essays in Development and Environmental Economics

This dissertation discusses three questions of development and environmental economics. First, it assesses the impact of mineral mining on the health and wealth of households in local communities across 44 developing countries, using micro data. Secondly, it presents evidence from a randomized controlled trial on the cost-shared provision of well-water tests for arsenic. Finally, it analyzes measurement error in a satellite night light data product widely used in development research, and investigates the scope for using the data in very high spatial resolution

The Emergence of the Pro-Nicene Alliance

This chapter narrates the emergence of the pro-Nicene alliance by arguing that it was a consensus-building movement. It begins by tracing the history of other consensus-building movements in the fractured theological landscape of the years 325-61 in order to demonstrate their development of various consensus-building tactics, which were ultimately used unsuccessfully. The impetus for the pro-Nicene alliance itself was dissatisfaction with, or the failure of, these previous efforts. Pro-Nicenes adopted four tactics of previous consensus-building efforts and deployed them successfully: (1) defining itself as the center between extreme positions, (2) promoting a minimalist creed that nonetheless ruled out extremes to be avoided, (3) acknowledging that the meaning of a creed was not self-evident and producing supplementary material to insure its correct interpretation, and (4) securing imperial patronage. The chapter then turns to shifts in thinking which occurred in the early 360s and made consensus between former opponents possible, taking Athanasius of Alexandria and Basil of Caesarea as paradigmatic examples of these shifts. The chapter concludes by narrating the consolidation and ascendency of the pro-Nicene alliance in the late 370s and early 380s

Hosting the Council in Nicaea: Material needs and Solutions

This chapter examines the physical surroundings and circumstances of the first ecumenical council at Nicaea. The first part summarizes what we know of the city of Nicaea, what it looked like in the early fourth century, and if it had the necessary infrastructure to host a large gathering. The chapter also considers why the council was moved to Nicaea from Ancyra as well as why Nicaea was favored over the nearby imperial capital of Nicomedia. The next part focusses on the location, character, and size of the venue of the council, the palace of Nicaea. After a more general discussion of the complex, the author attempts to shed light on the physical form of the hall in which the bishops gathered by reviewing the evidence for audience halls known from other imperial and private palaces. Both the possibility of the council taking place in a large basilica-like setting and an alternative of the bishops convening inside a rotunda are considered. Finally, there is a brief comparison of the setting of the Nicaean council and contemporary Christian meeting places

The Twenty Canons of the Council of Nicaea

Apart from the very important profession of faith, the Council of Nicaea also promulgated twenty canons, most of which do not receive the same attention in research as the Nicene Creed, although these were already highly esteemed in ancient times. First of all, this chapter provides a brief review of their textual transmission. Besides the original Greek text, which has been handed down in canonical collections and writings of ecclesiastical writers, there are some translations into other ancient languages (Latin, Syriac, Coptic). Then after dividing the twenty canons into various thematic groups (for example, laws pertaining to the clergy, sacraments, ecclesiastical jurisdiction), the second part explains each canon with the aid of previous research literature and interpretations in order to provide a short overview of their purpose and content. The third part deals with the reception of the canons in the early Church by councils, bishops, and ecclesiastical writers, and asks what importance was attributed to the Nicene canons in various canonical sources. Finally, some desiderata for future research are discussed