This book introduces the basic tools of dynamic optimization in economics to study environmental problems, applies econometric methods to estimate and test the models derived by dynamic optimization, and discusses environmental problems in a broad perspective, including the design and implementation of environmental policies. Although the coverage is selective, it represents what the author has to offer from his perspective and experience gained in research in dynamic optimization, econometrics and policy analysis, especially for China. The volume is self-contained for readers with mathematical background of first-year graduate students in the analytical fields of science and engineering but only limited training in economics, while an economics text presumes more knowledge of economics. Once the tools are mastered, the reader can pursue his own research on the topic if he is interested, or simply become a more mature citizen in the global economy.

Natural resources, and the materials derived from them, represent the physical basis for the economic system. Recent decades have witnessed an unprecedented growth in demand for these resources, which has triggered interest from policy makers in transitioning to a more resource efficient and ...

This open access book analyzes and seeks to consolidate the use of robust quantitative tools and qualitative methods for the design and assessment of energy and climate policies. In particular, it examines energy and climate policy performance and associated risks, as well as public acceptance and portfolio analysis in climate policy, and presents methods for evaluating the costs and benefits of flexible policy implementation as well as new framings for business and market actors. In turn, it discusses the development of alternative policy pathways and the identification of optimal switching points, drawing on concrete examples to do so. Lastly, it discusses climate change mitigation policies’ implications for the agricultural, food, building, transportation, service and manufacturing sectors.

The problems of interrelation between human economics and natural environment include scientific, technical, economic, demographic, social, political and other aspects that are studied by scientists of many specialities. One of the important aspects in scientific study of environmental and ecological problems is the development of mathematical and computer tools for rational management of economics and environment. This book introduces a wide range of mathematical models in economics, ecology and environmental sciences to a general mathematical audience with no in-depth experience in this specific area. Areas covered are: controlled economic growth and technological development, world dynamics, environmental impact, resource extraction, air and water pollution propagation, ecological population dynamics and exploitation. A variety of known models are considered, from classical ones (Cobb Douglass production function, Leontief input-output analysis, Solow models of economic dynamics, Verhulst-Pearl and Lotka-Volterra models of population dynamics, and others) to the models of world dynamics and the models of water contamination propagation used after Chemobyl nuclear catastrophe. Special attention is given to modelling of hierarchical regional economic-ecological interaction and technological change in the context of environmental impact. Xlll XIV Construction of Mathematical Models ...

This book addresses major issues such as a growing world energy demand, environmental degradation due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, and risk management of disastrous events such as pandemics, abnormal climate, and earthquakes. Using cutting-edge analytical tools, particularly computable general equilibrium (CGE) modelling, the analyses are focused on a very wide range of policy-relevant economic questions for the Asia-Pacific region, especially for Japan, China, India, Vietnam, and smaller nations, including Brunei, Timor Leste, and Fiji. The first part considers (a) the effects of climate change on agriculture sectors, energy policies, and future GHG emission trends, (b) adaptation to climate changes in energy policy and its impacts on the economies, and (c) risk management of catastrophic events such as global pandemics. The second part examines (a) energy environmental issues, (b) economic impacts of natural disaster and depopulation, and (c) effects of informatics development on risk management, using CGE modelling and other methods in regional science fields. Contributors are internationally active leading CGE modellers and environmental economists. The book should be greatly beneficial for scholars and graduate students as well as policy makers who are interested in the economic effects and management of risks relating to climate change and disastrous events.

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

Featuring an original introduction by the editors, this important collection of essays explores the main issues surrounding the regulation of the environment. The expert contributors illustrate that regulating the environment in the UK is conceptually complex, involves a diverse range of institutions, techniques and methodologies and crosses geographical and national boundaries. In the USA it is more formalised, juridical, adversarial and formally dependent upon legal rules. The articles highlight the fact that despite differences in the UK and the USA's regulatory styles, environmental regulation today has much in common with both traditions.