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This Article examines the genesis and context of SE4All, placing the effort within both itshistorical and international policy contexts. It highlights the voluntary nature of the initiative andargues that its effective implementation and the achievement of its goals require the articulation ofan applicable international legal framework that aids the transformation of SE4All’s policy actionsinto binding international legal commitments. The article contends that such a transformation doesnot depend on the creation of entirely new legal rules or institutions. Instead, an effective frame-work for successful implementation of SE4All can be derived from existing rules of internationalhuman rights law and sustainable development law. Reliance on these twin bodies of interna-tional law will increase the prospects for SE4All to achieve energy access and related goals thatits predecessor initiatives have failed to accomplish

This Article examines the genesis and context of SE4All, placing the effort within both itshistorical and international policy contexts. It highlights the voluntary nature of the initiative andargues that its effective implementation and the achievement of its goals require the articulation ofan applicable international legal framework that aids the transformation of SE4All’s policy actionsinto binding international legal commitments. The article contends that such a transformation doesnot depend on the creation of entirely new legal rules or institutions. Instead, an effective frame-work for successful implementation of SE4All can be derived from existing rules of internationalhuman rights law and sustainable development law. Reliance on these twin bodies of interna-tional law will increase the prospects for SE4All to achieve energy access and related goals thatits predecessor initiatives have failed to accomplish

I derive and test predictions from the classic Mussa and Rosen (1978) second-degree price discrimination model using data from the United States clothes washer market. I find evidence consistent with price discrimination in the market response to energy efficiency policy changes. Concurrent with the effective dates of both the new 2004 and 2007 federal minimum efficiency and ENERGY STAR standards, within-model clothes washer prices dropped on average. The heterogeneous pattern of price reduction across market segments, and adjustments in the menu of products, were consistent with predictions from the price-discrimination model, and not with a perfectly competitive market.

I derive and test predictions from the classic Mussa and Rosen (1978) second-degree price discrimination model using data from the United States clothes washer market. I find evidence consistent with price discrimination in the market response to energy efficiency policy changes. Concurrent with the effective dates of both the new 2004 and 2007 federal minimum efficiency and ENERGY STAR standards, within-model clothes washer prices dropped on average. The heterogeneous pattern of price reduction across market segments, and adjustments in the menu of products, were consistent with predictions from the price-discrimination model, and not with a perfectly competitive market.

Climate change is one of the preeminent policy issues of our day, and the social cost of carbon (SCC) is one of the foremost tools for determining the socially optimal policy response. The SCC is estimated using Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), of which Nordhaus’ DICE is the oldest and one of the best respected. These numerical models capture the various steps in the climate and economic processes that translate a marginal unit of CO2 emissions into economic damage. While accuracy at each of these steps is necessary to precisely estimate the SCC, correct calibrating the climate damage function, which translates a temperature change into a percentage change in GDP, is critical. Calibration of the damage function determines which climate damages are included and excluded from the cost of carbon. Traditionally, Nordhaus calibrated the DICE damage function using a global damage estimate calculated by aggregating a series of region-sector specific damage estimates (Nordhaus and Boyer, 2000; Nordhaus, 2008). However, in DICE-2013, Nordhaus moved to calibrating the DICE damage function using a meta-analysis at the global scale (Nordhaus and Sztorc, 2013). This paper critiques this meta-analysis approach as it is currently applied and re-estimates the DICE-2013 damage function using up-to-date meta-analysis techniques to more accurately reflect climate damages and the uncertainty underlying them. This paper finds that DICE-2013 damage function significantly under-estimates climate damages by a factor of two to three. This is a working paper.

Climate change is one of the preeminent policy issues of our day, and the social cost of carbon (SCC) is one of the foremost tools for determining the socially optimal policy response. The SCC is estimated using Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), of which Nordhaus’ DICE is the oldest and one of the best respected. These numerical models capture the various steps in the climate and economic processes that translate a marginal unit of CO2 emissions into economic damage. While accuracy at each of these steps is necessary to precisely estimate the SCC, correct calibrating the climate damage function, which translates a temperature change into a percentage change in GDP, is critical. Calibration of the damage function determines which climate damages are included and excluded from the cost of carbon. Traditionally, Nordhaus calibrated the DICE damage function using a global damage estimate calculated by aggregating a series of region-sector specific damage estimates (Nordhaus and Boyer, 2000; Nordhaus, 2008). However, in DICE-2013, Nordhaus moved to calibrating the DICE damage function using a meta-analysis at the global scale (Nordhaus and Sztorc, 2013). This paper critiques this meta-analysis approach as it is currently applied and re-estimates the DICE-2013 damage function using up-to-date meta-analysis techniques to more accurately reflect climate damages and the uncertainty underlying them. This paper finds that DICE-2013 damage function significantly under-estimates climate damages by a factor of two to three. This is a working paper.

Many believe that they can achieve the cornucopian dream by getting to a certain place, such as the United States, where others may be appearing to live the dream, even though all evidence shows that the Industrial age and all of its benefits are ending. The era of cheap oil that fueled the Industrial Revolution, which made an abundance of material goods and food possible, is now coming to an end, and humankind has delayed preparing for the post-industrial world for too long. Supplementary information is included in a separate file

Many believe that they can achieve the cornucopian dream by getting to a certain place, such as the United States, where others may be appearing to live the dream, even though all evidence shows that the Industrial age and all of its benefits are ending. The era of cheap oil that fueled the Industrial Revolution, which made an abundance of material goods and food possible, is now coming to an end, and humankind has delayed preparing for the post-industrial world for too long. Supplementary information is included in a separate file

This paper provides an overview of the economics of biofuels. It starts by describing the remarkable growth of the biofuel industry over the last decade, with emphasis on developments in the United States, Brazil and the European Union, and it identifies the driving role played by some critical policies. After a brief discussion of the motivations that are commonly argued in favor of biofuels and biofuel policies, the paper presents an assessment of the impacts of biofuels from the economics perspective. In particular, the paper explains the basic analytics of biofuel mandates, reviews several existing studies that have estimated the economic impacts of biofuels, presents some insights from a specific model, and outlines an appraisal of biofuel policies and the environmental impacts of biofuels. The paper concludes with an examination of several open issues and the future prospects of biofuels. Bio-based and Applied Economics, Vol 1 No 3 (2012): Towards a Sustainable Bio-economy: economic issues and policy challenges