Showing papers on "Consumption (economics) published in 2013"

Outsourcing CO2 within China

Abstract: Recent studies have shown that the high standard of living enjoyed by people in the richest countries often comes at the expense of CO2 emissions produced with technologies of low efficiency in less affluent, developing countries. Less apparent is that this relationship between developed and developing can exist within a single country's borders, with rich regions consuming and exporting high-value goods and services that depend upon production of low-cost and emission-intensive goods and services from poorer regions in the same country. As the world's largest emitter of CO2, China is a prominent and important example, struggling to balance rapid economic growth and environmental sustainability across provinces that are in very different stages of development. In this study, we track CO2 emissions embodied in products traded among Chinese provinces and internationally. We find that 57% of China's emissions are related to goods that are consumed outside of the province where they are produced. For instance, up to 80% of the emissions related to goods consumed in the highly developed coastal provinces are imported from less developed provinces in central and western China where many low-value-added but high-carbon-intensive goods are produced. Without policy attention to this sort of interprovincial carbon leakage, the less developed provinces will struggle to meet their emissions intensity targets, whereas the more developed provinces might achieve their own targets by further outsourcing. Consumption-based accounting of emissions can thus inform effective and equitable climate policy within China.

Sustainable food consumption: an overview of contemporary issues and policies

Abstract: Contemporary food production and consumption cannot be regarded as sustainable and raises problems with its wide scope involving diverse actors. Moreover, in the face of demographic change and a gr...

Morals and Markets

Abstract: The possibility that market interaction may erode moral values is a long-standing, but controversial, hypothesis in the social sciences, ethics, and philosophy. To date, empirical evidence on decay of moral values through market interaction has been scarce. We present controlled experimental evidence on how market interaction changes how human subjects value harm and damage done to third parties. In the experiment, subjects decide between either saving the life of a mouse or receiving money. We compare individual decisions to those made in a bilateral and a multilateral market. In both markets, the willingness to kill the mouse is substantially higher than in individual decisions. Furthermore, in the multilateral market, prices for life deteriorate tremendously. In contrast, for morally neutral consumption choices, differences between institutions are small.

Energy Subsidy Reform: Lessons and Implications

Abstract: Energy subsidies have wide-ranging economic consequences. While aimed at protecting consumers, subsidies aggravate fiscal imbalances, crowd-out priority public spending, and depress private investment, including in the energy sector. Subsidies also distort resource allocation by encouraging excessive energy consumption, artificially promoting capital-intensive industries, reducing incentives for investment in renewable energy, and accelerating the depletion of natural resources. Most subsidy benefits are captured by higher-income households, reinforcing inequality. Even future generations are affected through the damaging effects of increased energy consumption on global warming. This paper provides: (i) the most comprehensive estimates of energy subsidies currently available for 176 countries; and (ii) an analysis of ―how to do‖ energy subsidy reform, drawing on insights from 22 country case studies undertaken by IMF staff and analyses carried out by other institutions.

The environmental Kuznets curve and the role of coal consumption in India: Cointegration and causality analysis in an open economy

Abstract: This study investigates the dynamic relationship between coal consumption, economic growth, trade openness and CO2 emissions in case of India. In doing so, Narayan and Popp, Journal of Applied Statistics 2010; 37:1425–1438, structural break unit test is applied to test the order of integration of the variables. Long run relationship between the variables is tested by applying the ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration developed by Pesaran et al. Journal of Applied Econometrics 2001; 16:289–326. The results confirm the existence of cointegration for long run between coal consumption, economic growth, trade openness and CO2 emissions. Our empirical exercise indicates the presence of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in long run as well as in short run. Coal consumption as well as trade openness contributes to CO2 emissions. The causality analysis reports the feedback hypothesis between economic growth and CO2 emissions and same inference is drawn between coal consumption and CO2 emissions. Moreover, trade openness Granger causes economic growth, coal consumption and CO2 emissions.

Estimating Consumption Economies of Scale, Adult Equivalence Scales, and Household Bargaining Power

Abstract: How much income would a woman living alone require to attain the same standard of living that she would have if she were married? What percentage of a married couple's expenditures are controlled by the husband? How much money does a couple save on consumption goods by living together versus living apart? We propose and estimate a collective model of household behaviour that permits identification and estimation of concepts such as these. We model households in terms of the utility functions of its members, a bargaining or social welfare function, and a consumption technology function. We demonstrate generic non-parametric identification of the model, and hence of a version of adult equivalence scales that we call "indifference scales", as well as consumption economies of scale, the household's resource sharing rule or members' bargaining power, and other related concepts. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.

Crises and Recoveries in an Empirical Model of Consumption Disasters

Abstract: We estimate an empirical model of consumption disasters using new data on consumption for 24 countries over more than 100 years, and study its implications for asset prices. The model allows for par tial recoveries after disasters that unfold over multiple years. We find that roughly half of the drop in consumption due to disasters is subsequently reversed. Our model generates a sizable equity premium from disaster risk, but one that is substantially smaller than in simpler models. It implies that a large value of the intertemporal elasticity of substitution is necessary to explain stock-market crashes at the onset of disasters. (JEL E21, E32, E44, G12, G14)

Renewable energy, non-renewable energy and economic growth in Brazil

Abstract: This study employs Brazil’s yearly statistics from 1980 to 2010 to explore the causal relationships between the real GDP and four types of energy consumption: non-hydroelectric renewable energy consumption (NHREC), total renewable energy consumption (TREC), non-renewable energy consumption (NREC), and the total primary energy consumption (TEC). The cointegration test reveals a long-run equilibrium among Brazil’s real GDP, labour, capital, and each of the four types of consumption. The development of the Brazilian economy has close ties with capital formation and labour force. The influence of NHREC/TREC on real output is positive and significant, while the impacts by NREC/TEC are insignificant. The results from the vector error correction models reveal a unidirectional causality from NHREC to economic growth, a bidirectional causality between economic growth and TREC, and a unidirectional causality from economic growth to NREC or TEC without feedback in the long-run. These findings suggest that Brazil is an energy-independent economy and that economic growth is crucial in providing the necessary resources for sustainable development. Expanding renewable energy would not only enhance Brazil’s economic growth and curb the deterioration of the environment but also create an opportunity for a leadership role in the international system and improve Brazil’s competition with more developed countries.

Tele-connecting local consumption to global land use

Abstract: Globalization increases the interconnectedness of people and places around the world. In a connected world, goods and services consumed in one country are often produced in other countries and exchanged via international trade. Thus, local consumption is increasingly met by global supply chains oftentimes involving large geographical distances and leading to global environmental change. In this study, we connect local consumption to global land use through tracking global commodity and value chains via international trade flows. Using a global multiregional input–output model with sectoral detail allows for the accounting of land use attributed to “unusual” sectors – from a land use perspective – including services, machinery and equipment, and construction. Our results show how developed countries consume a large amount of goods and services from both domestic and international markets, and thus impose pressure not only on their domestic land resources, but also displace land in other countries, thus displacing other uses. For example, 33% of total U.S. land use for consumption purposes is displaced from other countries. This ratio becomes much larger for the EU (more than 50%) and Japan (92%). Our analysis shows that 47% of Brazilian and 88% of Argentinean cropland is used for consumption purposes outside of their territories, mainly in EU countries and China. In addition, consumers in rich countries tend to displace land by consuming non-agricultural products, such as services, clothing and household appliances, which account for more than 50% of their total land displacement. By contrast, for developing economies, such as African countries, the share of land use for non-agricultural products is much lower, with an average of 7%. The emerging economies and population giants, China and India, are likely to further increase their appetite for land from other countries, such as Africa, Russia and Latin America, to satisfy their own land needs driven by their fast economic growth and the needs and lifestyles of their growing populations.

The effect of rising food prices on food consumption: systematic review with meta-regression

Abstract: Objective To quantify the relation between food prices and the demand for food with specific reference to national and household income levels Design Systematic review with meta-regression Data sources Online databases of peer reviewed and grey literature (ISI Web of Science, EconLit, PubMed, Medline, AgEcon, Agricola, Google, Google Scholar, IdeasREPEC, Eldis, USAID, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, World Bank, International Food Policy Research Institute), hand searched reference lists, and contact with authors Study selection We included cross sectional, cohort, experimental, and quasi-experimental studies with English abstracts Eligible studies used nationally representative data from 1990 onwards derived from national aggregate data sources, household surveys, or supermarket and home scanners Data analysis The primary outcome extracted from relevant papers was the quantification of the demand for foods in response to changes in food price (own price food elasticities) Descriptive and study design variables were extracted for use as covariates in analysis We conducted meta-regressions to assess the effect of income levels between and within countries on the strength of the relation between food price and demand, and predicted price elasticities adjusted for differences across studies Results 136 studies reporting 3495 own price food elasticities from 162 different countries were identified Our models predict that increases in the price of all foods result in greater reductions in food consumption in poor countries: in low and high income countries, respectively, a 1% increase in the price of cereals results in reductions in consumption of 061% (95% confidence interval 056% to 066%) and 043% (036% to 048%), and a 1% increase in the price of meat results in reductions in consumption of 078% (073% to 083%) and 060% (054% to 066%) Within all countries, our models predict that poorer households will be the most adversely affected by increases in food prices Conclusions Changes in global food prices will have a greater effect on food consumption in lower income countries and in poorer households within countries This has important implications for national responses to increases in food prices and for the definition of policies designed to reduce the global burden of undernutrition

What good is wealth without health? the effect of health on the marginal utility of consumption

Abstract: United States. Social Security Administration (National Bureau of Economic Research Grant 10-P-98363-1-05)

When Differences Unite: Resource Dependence in Heterogeneous Consumption Communities

Abstract: Although heterogeneity in consumption communities is pervasive, there is little understanding of its impact on communities. This study shows how heterogeneous communities operate and interact with the marketplace. Specifically, the authors draw on actor-network theory, conceptualizing community as a network of heterogeneous actors (i.e., individuals, institutions, and resources), and examine the interplay of these actors in a mainstream activity-based consumption community—the distance running community. Findings, derived from a multimethod investigation, show that communities can preserve continuity even when heterogeneity operates as a destabilizing force. Continuity preserves when community members depend on each other for social and economic resources: a dependency that promotes the use of frame alignment practices. These practices enable the community to (re)stabilize, reproduce, and reform over time. The authors also highlight the overlapping roles of consumers and producers and develop a dimensiona...

Content or community? a digital business strategy for content providers in the social age

Abstract: The content industry has been undergoing a tremendous transformation in the last two decades. We focus in this paper on recent changes in the form of social computing. Although the content industry has implemented social computing to a large extent, it has done so from a techno-centric approach in which social features are viewed as complementary rather than integral to content. This approach does not capitalize on users' social behavior in the website and does not answer the content industry's need to elicit payment from consumers. We suggest that both of these objectives can be achieved by acknowledging the fusion between content and community, making the social experience central to the content website's digital business strategy. We use data from Last.fm, a site offering both music consumption and online community features. The basic use of Last.fm is free, and premium services are provided for a fixed monthly subscription fee. Although the premium services on Last.fm are aimed primarily at improving the content consumption experience, we find that willingness to pay for premium services is strongly associated with the level of community participation of the user. Drawing from the literature on levels of participation in online communities, we show that consumers' willingness to pay increases as they climb the so-called "ladder of participation" on the website. Moreover, we find that willingness to pay is more strongly linked to community participation than to the volume of content consumption. We control for self-selection bias by using propensity score matching. We extend our results by estimating a hazard model to study the effect of community activity on the time between joining the website and the subscription decision. Our results suggest that firms whose digital business models remain viable in a world of "freemium" will be those that take a strategic rather than techno-centric view of social media, that integrate social media into the consumption and purchase experience rather than use it merely as a substitute for offline soft marketing. We provide new evidence of the importance of fusing social computing with content delivery and, in the process, lay a foundation for a broader strategic path for the digital content industry in an age of growing user participation.

Collaborative consumption : towards a resource-saving consumption culture

Abstract: Resource efficiency in production and technological innovations are inadequate for considerably reducing the current use of natural resources Both social innovations and a complementary and equally valued strategy of sustainable consumption are required: goods must be used longer, and services that support collaborative consumption (CC) patterns must be extended “Using rather than owning” strategies, such as product sharing, have the potential to conserve resources Based on the results of different German studies, this article highlights the resource-saving potentials of CC patterns and recommendations proposed for policies and further research questions The purpose of this paper is to show that a general resource-saving potential can be realized by “use rather than own” schemes, depending on the application field and the framework for implementation CC is suitable for making a positive contribution to achieving the Factor 10 target by playing an important role in changing consumer patterns

Anti-Consumption as the Study of Reasons against:

Abstract: Anti-consumption studies are gaining in popularity, but doubt remains as to whether they can add anything unique to consumer research and marketing that other similar topics cannot. This article attempts to explain the distinctive nature of anti-consumption and how it can contribute to the understanding of marketing beyond other related phenomena, such as ethical consumption, environmental consumption, consumer resistance, and symbolic consumption. Drawing upon reasons theory, the article contends that the “reasons against” consumption are not always the logical opposite of the “reasons for” consumption and there are important differences between phenomena of negation and affirmation. By focusing on the reasons against consumption, anti-consumption research acts as a lens that scholars and practitioners may use to view similar phenomena in a new light. The article illustrates this point by offering anti-consumption as an overarching perspective that spans a range of behavioral and thematic contexts, there...