Browsing by Author "Kling, Robert W., advisor"
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Item Open Access Economic & social determinants of CO₂ emission trends(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Elhemri, Maged A. Hamed, author; Kling, Robert W., advisor; Seidl, Andrew F., committee member; Graff, Gregory D., committee member; Costanigro, Marco, committee memberThe increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide caused by human activity is a major cause of climate change, which is the most prominent international environmental problem in recent decades. This research aims to study the relationship between economic growth and CO2 emissions resulting from production-related fossil fuel burning, under the assumptions of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), with an emphasis on the impact of underlying variables which may affect CO2 emissions through the "technique" variables (structure and technology). From our survey of the literature, we extract the general trends of the CO2 EKC hypothesis, studies which mostly follow the traditional method of the standard regression model (with emissions as a quadratic function of GDP per capita). Many of those studies confirm the EKC hypothesis but find that the critical value, or turning point, is at a relatively high level of GDP. Generally speaking, those findings were confirmed in all three levels of our analysis. In our Level 1 analysis, we develop a standard EKC regression model as a benchmark, using a panel data sample. The results confirm the EKC hypothesis, where CO2 emissions have a positive relationship to the level of income before the EKC threshold and then a negative relationship beyond the threshold (at a relatively high level of GDP). Then a subsample analysis, on the basis of education quality, transparency, regulatory effort, and democracy, suggests that underlying variables may have a beneficial effect on emissions efficiency; on the other hand, the trade openness subsample analysis may indicate a detrimental effect on emissions efficiency, iii though further study is needed to determine the effect of the scale factor and the technique factor that may tend to induce or inhibit the down-turning of the CO2 EKC. In our Level 2 analysis we break out the technique factor (structural and technological) from the scale factor and the result confirms the EKC hypothesis and supports the idea that a downturn is due to improved technology or emissions efficiency. The analysis contains additional information about the role of structural change in explaining the EKC. When countries become affluent, they start to demand proportionally more services, decreasing the pollution intensity of production, though with the possibility of two-way causality between industrial share and income. The Level 3 analysis isolates the impact of each underlying variable on its own, ceteris paribus, to investigate which variables may tend to encourage or inhibit the down turning of the CO2 EKC through the technique factor; the results confirm the EKC hypothesis. Moreover, we find that some underlying variables (Education, Trade Openness, and Regulatory Effort) affect the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and income with beneficial impact on the emissions efficiency of production; others (Transparency and Democracy) may not have the same effect on emissions efficiency, while evidence is insufficient to confirm a negative impact of global free riding ability. By comparing the effects of the underlying variables both in terms of GDP elasticity effects on emissions and of the turning points, in both Levels 1 and 3, we find that Education and Regulatory Effort affect the income-emissions relationship with a beneficial impact on emissions. For Trade Openness, there is a detrimental impact but the net beneficial effect of high openness compared to low openness suggests a benefit from the composition effect relative to any scale effect; openness lessens the negative impact of affluence. Regarding Democracy and Transparency, there is a contradiction in the conclusions between Level 1 and 3, and results also contradict our expectation, which leads us to not draw any strong implications overall.Item Open Access Economic efficiency of US 2007 heavy-duty diesel emission standards: a lifecycle-based approach(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Anderson, Aaron, author; Kling, Robert W., advisor; Willson, Bryan D., committee member; Iverson, Terrence W., committee member; Bernasek, Alexandra, committee memberA new method of evaluating vehicle emission standards is developed and applied to US 2007 heavy-duty diesel emission standards. The method is closely related to lifecycle analyses because it relies on the calculation of lifecycle costs of a single vehicle meeting the new standards, as well as the lifecycle costs of a vehicle compliant with previous standards. This allows the calculation of a per-vehicle net benefit, which is then, along with forecasted vehicle sales, used to estimate the total net benefit of the standards imposed over some period of years. There are multiple advantages to the approach developed here relative to that used by the EPA. Primarily, it allows a comparison of benefits and costs that occur across different periods of time, it relies on marginal damage estimates from the peer-reviewed literature, and it is easily adaptable to different emission standards. In contrast to the result of the EPA analysis, it is found that the net benefit of the standards is negative.Item Open Access Essays on natural disturbances and the provision of ecosystem services: monetizing impacts, assessing management tradeoffs, and measuring vulnerability(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Elmer, Matthew Joseph, author; Kling, Robert W., advisor; Suter, Jordan F., advisor; Weiler, Stephan A., committee member; Loomis, John B., committee memberThis dissertation evaluates the effect of natural disturbances on the provision of ecosystem services. The first chapter examines whether small and frequent wildfires affect drinking water prices, finding both short-run and long-run effects on downstream surface water resources and subsequent prices. The results indicate that water system variable cost rises immediately following a wildfire, encouraging capital investment to reduce variable cost and resulting in a significant effect of wildfire on fixed cost in the long run. The second chapter examines how increased Forest Service spending on fire management has affected non-fire management. The results indicate that spending on fire has increased in western regions, with spending cuts across non-fire and fire programs, and large impacts on eastern regions. In many cases it is a combination of direct and indirect effects that contribute to spending cuts in non-fire programs, and many programs experience additional cuts not associated with fire. The third chapter explores climate-induced changes in rangeland grazing services on National Forest land in the Intermountain West, measuring vulnerability based on environmental, economic, and social factors. Grazing on National Forest land is found to contribute to local economic conditions but is also associated with adverse effects on rangeland vegetation and water when the forage appropriation rate is high. Overall, the drivers of vulnerability are heterogeneous across the region, suggesting that management decisions and adaptive efforts may be best served at the local level.Item Open Access Impulsive consumers and optimal social security(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Findley, Thomas Scott, author; Kling, Robert W., advisorUnfunded social security programs are primarily justified on grounds that individuals have specific behavioral tendencies that lead to inadequate saving for retirement. To date, very little has been pursued in the way of theory to analyze this justification. I design a new model of consumer behavior that is consistent with many of the salient features of evidence on impulsive consumption behavior. In my model, "impulsive consumers" optimally formulate long-term plans, but often deviate from these consumption programs upon experiencing a psychological impulse to uncontrollably consume above and beyond. In order to examine how impulsive consumers fare in an unfunded social security program, I calibrate my model to match specific empirical features of aggregate life-cycle consumption. After calibrating the model, I employ dynamic welfare measures and find: (i) a significant welfare cost to consuming impulsively; (ii) a social security program (calibrated to the current U.S. program) does not generally improve the welfare of impulsive consumers; (iii) social security almost never improves the welfare of impulsive consumers under future demographics; and, (iv) the optimal social security tax rate is drastically smaller than the current U.S. rate.Item Open Access Measuring values for environmental public goods: incorporating gender and ethnic social effects into stated-preference value-elicitation methods(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Jones Ritten, Chian, author; Kling, Robert W., advisor; Bernasek, Alexandra, committee member; Tavani, Daniele, committee member; Loomis, John B., committee memberThis dissertation explores the theory and seemingly paradoxical results between the economic literatures of contingent valuation method and risk aversion and the interdisciplinary literature of perceptions of risk, specifically with regard to race and gender effects. While a review of the contingent valuation literature shows no systematic gender or race differences in willingness to pay to reduce risks associated with nonmarket goods and services, the risk aversion literature finds systematic gender and race differences in levels of aversion to risks. Women are found to be more risk averse than men and Blacks and Hispanics less risk averse than whites. It is hypothesized that an individual measure of willingness to pay to reduce risks associated with nonmarket goods should be directly related to individual levels of risk aversion and consistent with individual perception of risk. The results from the risk perception literature also find systematic gender and race differences. These results are consistent with the risk aversion literature for gender effects, but inconsistent for Blacks and Hispanics who are found to perceive more risks than whites. To explore this inconsistency, a theoretical model is constructed that connects the contingent valuation theory to that of risk aversion and perceptions of risk. Insights from the risk perception literature are used to create a model of absolute risk aversion in order to make a tractable connection to risk aversion and stated valuation in CVM. Data from a previously collected dataset by Loomis et al (2009) is fit to the model. The results reinforce the inconsistency found between the risk perception and contingent valuation literatures and indicate a possible shortcoming of traditional methodology used by contingent valuation studies and the need for use of proper payment vehicles. The existence of social preferences has been well established in the experimental literature and is formally modeled in this dissertation by incorporating influences of self-interest, altruism, reciprocity, fairness, and commitment in the context of stated willingness to pay in contingent valuation methodology. The models suggest that the existence of social preferences may explain some of the inconsistency between the relevant literatures. A dichotomous choice stated valuation study of various vaccination programs was conducted among college students at Colorado State University. The finding indicate gender differences in willingness to pay for vaccination programs and that the payment vehicle may have substantial effects on valuation. The inclusion of social preferences is a substantial improvement to modeling of valuation and when not included, may lead to underspecified models that ignore existing gender effects.Item Open Access Merger and innovation: the case of the oil and gas industry(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Anindhito, Rezki, author; Kling, Robert W., advisor; Mushinski, David, committee member; Olienyk, John P., committee member; Ryan, Patricia A., committee member; Weiler, Stephan, committee memberMany studies in the late 1990’s concerning the internet and information technology industries show that innovation is the main reasons for company mergers. This dissertation attempts to explain whether merger activities in the oil and gas industry were motivated for the same main reasons as merger activities in the internet and information technology industries. The dissertation is divided into two parts. The first part of the study, using the event study and panel data methodology, examines whether positive impact hypotheses dominate the merger activities. The four benchmark models for normal returns. Market Model (MM), Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), Fama-French Three Factors Model and Fama-French Four Factors Model are used to calculate Cumulative Abnormal Return (CAR). The CAR results from Market Model are the same as the other three normal return models. The only difference is the magnitude of CAR on different models which tend to be smaller as more variables were included in the equation. The CAR results are also in accordance with the fourth and fifth wave theory of mergers. In the second part, using the probit and panel data method, the study tries to explain the relationship between innovation and merger activities. The result shows that innovation can have two opposite effect to merger. We believe that our findings can only explain two from several motivations for merger waves and only focus on the positive impact hypothesis of merger. Therefore, further research is still necessary to examine for other motivations and also to test whether our conclusion also applies to other industries. Additional study on the negative impact hypothesis of merger is also desired to increase our knowledge on merger theory.