Abstract
This paper investigates the effectiveness of the instruments adopted to tackle air pollution in developing countries. The argument presented is that, even more than in developed economies, the less developed countries have to allocate the resources in this area with extreme care and parsimony. In order to implement effective programs, first the potential benefits of a reduction in emissions have to be estimated, and compared to the costs of alternative actions; second, govern ments have to move away from a “command control” approach to the problem, to one where market based instruments can influence economic agents behaviour towards the revised targets. The methods by which air pollution control policies have been determined in OECD countries and the feasibility of external cost estimates in air pollution strategies are discussed. Accordingly, the transferability of these estimates to account for environmental damages in developing dountries is examined. The paper claims that rules for modifying the willingness to pay to account for differences between countries at different levels of development can be set and the potential role of monetary estimates is explored.
This is of course the opposite of the conventional assumption in economic theory of rising marginal damages. The conventional assumption may still be correct,however, since we have not allowed for the feedback effects of rising emissions via changes in location.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asian Development Bank (1992). Integrated Energy-Environment Planning: Towards Developing a Framework, Manila.
Barde, J., Pearce, D. (eds.) (1992). Valuing the Environment: Six Case Studies, Earthscan, London.
CEC/US (1992. “Joint Study on Fuel Cycle Costs: Assessment of the Costs of the Coal Fuel Cycle in the UK and Germany”, Commission of the European Communities, DGXII, Brussels.
Cropper, M. et al. (1991). “Discounting Human Lives”, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 73(5), pp. 1410–1415.
Jascow, P. (1992), “Dealing with Environmental Externalities: Let’s Do it Right!”, Edison Electric Institute, US.
Krutilla, J., Fisher, A. (1975), The Economics of Natural Environments: Studies in the Valuation of Commodity and Amenity Resources, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
Markandya, A. (1990), “Environmental Costs and Power Systems Planning”, Utilities Policy, 1(1), pp. 13–27.
Markandya, A. (1992). “Cost Effective Strategies for Air Pollution Control from the Coal and Steel Sectors in the Ukraine”, mimeo, University College London.
Markandya, A., Rhodes, B. (1992). “EC/US Fuel Cycle Study: Economic Valuation of Environmental Impacts”, Commission of the European Communities, DGXII, Brussels.
Markandya, A., Pearce, D. (1991). “Development, the Environment and the Social Rate of Discount”, World Bank Research Observer, 6 (2), pp 137–152.
Oakridge National Laboratory and Resources for the Future (1992). “Damages and Benefits of the Coal Fuel Cycle: Estimation, Methods, Impacts and Values”, ONL, Tennessee.
Ottinger, D.R., Robinson, N.A., Hodas, D.R., Babb, S.E. (1990). Environmental Costs of Electricity. PACE University Centre for Environmental Legal Studies, Prepared for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and United States Department of Energy.
Opschoor, J., Voss, H. (1989). Application of Economic Instruments for Environmental Protection in OECD Countries, OECD, Paris.
Panayotou, T. (1992). Getting Incentives Right: Economic Instruments for Environmental Management in Developing Countries, OECD, Paris.
Savornin. A.F de. (1991). “Financial Instruments and Economic Incentives in OECD Countries”, mimeo, Institute for Environmental Studies, The Netherlands.
World Development Report. (1992). The World Bank and Oxford University Press, Washington.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Markandya, A. (1994). Air Pollution and Energy Policies: The Role of Environmental Damage Estimation. In: Carraro, C. (eds) Trade, Innovation, Environment. Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) Series on Economics, Energy and Environment, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0948-2_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0948-2_15
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-4409-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-0948-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive