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Environment
Economics and the environment
Published in February 2021 by the UK government, the ‘Dasgupta Review’ calls for changes in how we think, act and measure economic success to protect and enhance our prosperity and the natural world. Against the backdrop of the Review, in the fourth edition of I4I Conversations, E. Somanathan speaks with Partha Dasgupta, tracing the origins of his interest in environmental economics – a consistent theme of his academic work that spans several fields of economics – and how his thinking on the issue has evolved over the years. They foray into economic theorising of the ecology’s imprint on collective behaviours; fusing micro and macro perspectives on the embeddedness of the economy in nature; the complexities of accounting for natural wealth in economic terms and enhancing this wealth via small institutional changes; how average yields of primary producers such as algae are much higher than of virtually any other investment; how the millions of small errors we are making are adding up t
Economics and the environment
Published in February 2021 by the UK government, the ‘Dasgupta Review’ calls for changes in how we think, act and measure economic success to protect and enhance our prosperity and the natural world. Against the backdrop of the Review, in the fourth edition of I4I Conversations, E. Somanathan speaks with Partha Dasgupta, tracing the origins of his interest in environmental economics – a consistent theme of his academic work that spans several fields of economics – and how his thinking on the issue has evolved over the years. They foray into economic theorising of the ecology’s imprint on collective behaviours; fusing micro and macro perspectives on the embeddedness of the economy in nature; the complexities of accounting for natural wealth in economic terms and enhancing this wealth via small institutional changes; how average yields of primary producers such as algae are much higher than of virtually any other investment; how the millions of small errors we are making are adding up
On the economic geography of climate change
Climate change is a defining challenge of our times. In this post, Peri and Robert-Nicoud introduce a special issue of the ‘Journal of Economic Geography’ on climate change, which provides foundations for well-informed policymaking by addressing two main themes of the economic geography of climate change. First, climate change yields heterogeneous effects across space, and second, a crucial aspect of human adaptation to climate change is geographic mobility.
Balancing economic development and climate goals
Although India is on track to meet its target under the Paris Climate Agreement, the fast pace of urbanisation could worsen the problem of climate change. In this post, Ejaz Ghani outlines the policy instruments available to promote green growth in the cities and enhance energy efficiency, and contends that there can be huge payoffs from linking urbanisation with climate change
Inducing water conservation in affluent urban households
Reducing the demand for water – particularly in affluent, urban households – can lower the burden of increasing supply to ensure universal access, and sustaining it at an affordable price. Based on a field experiment in Bengaluru, this article shows that ‘habit-change’ interventions can lead to a 15-25% reduction in household water consumption without economic incentives or restrictions and these results persisted for the two-year observation period of the study.
Sustainable livelihoods and resilience through community forest management
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006 adopts a rights-based approach to forest conservation and seeks to place local communities at the centre of forest governance. In this note, Santosh Gedam presents the case of the Pachgaon village in the state of Maharashtra, which – through the recognition of community forest resource rights enshrined in the Act – has made significant progress in sustainably and equitably managing common-pool resources and generating local livelihoods.
The importance of a climate stimulus in India
The Covid-19 pandemic has plunged India into recession, and substantial stimulus from the government is required to jump-start the economy. In this post, Ingmar Schumacher contends that while systemic sectors should be bailed out – even if these are polluting – it would be a mistake to not take advantage of the double dividends that come with transitioning towards a more sustainable economy.
Environmental relocation and firm outcomes
Industrial relocation policies have become increasingly popular as a policy tool to combat pollution in the developing world. Using Economic Census data from 2005 and 2013, this article examines the impact of an industrial relocation policy in Delhi, and shows that relocation caused a long-term change in the location and concentration of firms. The data also indicate distributional consequences – with firms that were relocated across larger distances being less likely to remain open in the long run
India’s progress in meeting its climate goals
India’s target under the Paris Agreement on climate change, is to reduce greenhouse gas emission intensity by 33-35% by 2030, from the 2005 level. In a previous I4I post, Manisha Jain showed that the estimated progress towards the target varies across external and country data sources. Based on further analysis, in this post, she argues that the different datasets give different answers to questions about the scope of raising India’s climate targets, and the effectiveness of its mitigation strategies.
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