Transitioning to a water-secure future in the Basin. Increased water scarcity threatens the viability of the Murray-Darling Basin. There has been little analysis conducted of the consequences of water market impediments. The economic dimensions of trade impediments, water management, water market intervention and the net social benefits of water markets are at the core of this project. In particular, this project aims to explore: the impact of impediments and policy in water markets; how further ....Transitioning to a water-secure future in the Basin. Increased water scarcity threatens the viability of the Murray-Darling Basin. There has been little analysis conducted of the consequences of water market impediments. The economic dimensions of trade impediments, water management, water market intervention and the net social benefits of water markets are at the core of this project. In particular, this project aims to explore: the impact of impediments and policy in water markets; how further water market products may increase water market efficiency; and, the nature and sources of transactions costs in markets. Benefits from this project will enhance resilience and adaptation of irrigators to future climate change and water shortages, as well as providing future policy guidance.Read moreRead less
International Trade, Climate Change and Economic Policy. The research project addresses the role of, and interactions between, environmental and international trade policies within the context of a global economy with increasingly open economies whose production and consumption activities generate emissions of greenhouse gases that accumulate in the atmosphere and have potentially adverse effects on the world’s climate, which then impacts the environment, production and households. The objective ....International Trade, Climate Change and Economic Policy. The research project addresses the role of, and interactions between, environmental and international trade policies within the context of a global economy with increasingly open economies whose production and consumption activities generate emissions of greenhouse gases that accumulate in the atmosphere and have potentially adverse effects on the world’s climate, which then impacts the environment, production and households. The objective is to develop better understanding of the nexus between the international economy, climate change through the environment, and international trade and environmental policies. It will achieve this objective by analyses of multi-country models of international trade, climate change and policy design.Read moreRead less
Impacts of changing water ownership and reforms on Australian water markets. Water markets play a critical role in helping Australia’s food bowl survive periods of severe drought. This project aims to evaluate how the Murray-Darling Basin water markets performed, in terms of the impact of water ownership, and investigate how water reforms have affected rural communities over the past two decades. Expected outcomes include a clearer understanding on how different water ownership structures impact ....Impacts of changing water ownership and reforms on Australian water markets. Water markets play a critical role in helping Australia’s food bowl survive periods of severe drought. This project aims to evaluate how the Murray-Darling Basin water markets performed, in terms of the impact of water ownership, and investigate how water reforms have affected rural communities over the past two decades. Expected outcomes include a clearer understanding on how different water ownership structures impact price and price volatility of water, market power, economic welfare of water traders, and what social and economic impacts water reforms in the past decades have in the Basin. The findings will provide critical evidence for evaluating future water reforms, building resilient rural communities and safeguarding food security.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101167
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,000.00
Summary
The environmental costs and benefits of special economic zones. This project aims to evaluate the environmental impacts of the spatial concentration of firms. Taking advantage of increasing availability of geo-referenced economic data, the project will evaluate the environmental costs and benefits of policies to promote industrial clusters in China, India, and Colombia. The collected datasets will match trends in firm-level emissions imputed from accounting data to ambient pollution measures der ....The environmental costs and benefits of special economic zones. This project aims to evaluate the environmental impacts of the spatial concentration of firms. Taking advantage of increasing availability of geo-referenced economic data, the project will evaluate the environmental costs and benefits of policies to promote industrial clusters in China, India, and Colombia. The collected datasets will match trends in firm-level emissions imputed from accounting data to ambient pollution measures derived from ground monitors and satellites. This project will investigate the interactions between economic growth and industrial emissions, and provide recommendations based on a better understanding of whether industrial clusters mitigate or exacerbate local and global emissions from manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and pr ....Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and protocols will improve our ability to generate better data and better understand how social and incentive mechanisms can constructively interact to facilitate collaborative environmental action. Results will help make the achievement of environmental targets and the use of public funds more cost-effective. Read moreRead less
Do scientist and public preferences diverge? Analysing expert and public preferences for environmental and social outcomes for the Swan River. Expert judgements and public preferences may be quite different, so when can organisations rely on experts, how serious is the divergence, and when does it matter? In a case study of Perth's iconic Swan River, the project will explore this issue and its consequences for decision makers, to assist the Swan River Trust in their future decision making.
Managing Carbon Offsets to Improve Australian Climate Policy Effectiveness. This project aims to evaluate the Emissions Reduction Fund-Australia’s flagship climate policy-by using a combination of state-of-the-art theoretical and experimental economic methods. This project expects to generate new knowledge by investigating how the use of aggregators (intermediaries) and contract design impact the current regulation. Expected outcomes of this project include a clear scholarly understanding of how ....Managing Carbon Offsets to Improve Australian Climate Policy Effectiveness. This project aims to evaluate the Emissions Reduction Fund-Australia’s flagship climate policy-by using a combination of state-of-the-art theoretical and experimental economic methods. This project expects to generate new knowledge by investigating how the use of aggregators (intermediaries) and contract design impact the current regulation. Expected outcomes of this project include a clear scholarly understanding of how to redesign the regulatory system to deliver better environmental outcomes for less public funds. The insights gained should provide significant benefits to both Federal and State Australian policymakers (as well as policymakers worldwide) on the design and implementation of carbon offsetting mechanisms.Read moreRead less
Technology Transforming Markets: Large-Scale Field Experiments in Electricity Use. Advances in information technology are transforming electricity markets. Victoria is rolling out ‘smart’ meters, which record half-hourly consumption data. Some retailers also provide web portals that facilitate customer access to this information. Together with an innovative start-up company, this project aims to use large-scale field experiments to evaluate the impact of these technologies on how consumers: use ....Technology Transforming Markets: Large-Scale Field Experiments in Electricity Use. Advances in information technology are transforming electricity markets. Victoria is rolling out ‘smart’ meters, which record half-hourly consumption data. Some retailers also provide web portals that facilitate customer access to this information. Together with an innovative start-up company, this project aims to use large-scale field experiments to evaluate the impact of these technologies on how consumers: use electricity; opt for new pricing plans; and switch retailers. The aims have important implications for environmental policies designed to conserve energy, for consumer choice and welfare, and for retail market competitiveness.Read moreRead less
Informing economic policies to enhance an efficient and sustainable use of water resources in a context of high uncertainty on future climate. The main purpose of this project is to assess how economic instruments can be used to improve water resources management in a context of uncertainty and climate change.
Epistemically feasible choice: implications for sustainable risk management. The aim of this project is to examine procedural decision principles that will yield better choices in circumstances where, because of epistemic limitations, standard decision theory provides an inadequate guide. Individuals and policy-makers must make decisions even though they cannot be fully aware of all of the relevant possibilities or fully understand consequences they have not yet experienced. Examples include ind ....Epistemically feasible choice: implications for sustainable risk management. The aim of this project is to examine procedural decision principles that will yield better choices in circumstances where, because of epistemic limitations, standard decision theory provides an inadequate guide. Individuals and policy-makers must make decisions even though they cannot be fully aware of all of the relevant possibilities or fully understand consequences they have not yet experienced. Examples include individual decisions about marriage and childbearing, public policy decisions about complex environmental problems and decisions on funding scientific research. The expected outcome of the project will be a formal model of decision theory incorporating principles of resilience, sustainability and transformative experience.Read moreRead less