IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/jns/jbstat/v234y2014i2-3p366-387.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Global Warming: Technology, Preferences and Policy

Author

Listed:
  • Birchenhall Chris

    (Honorary Fellow, Economics, Arthur Lewis Building- 2.016, School of Social Science, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK)

  • Windrum Paul

    (Nottingham University Business School, Jubilee Campus, Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK)

Abstract

Global warming is a market failure in that the market prices of goods do not reflect the externality imposed on us all by the green house gases (GHGs) emitted in their production. To date global politics has not provided an effective agreement on how to abate these emissions. Over and above market failure there is political failure. A proper understanding of this fundamental institutional failure requires us to consider the interaction between producers, consumers and politics. We aim to offer a brief introduction to some of the issues involved and point to an evolutionary analysis in which technology, preferences and policies coevolve.

Suggested Citation

  • Birchenhall Chris & Windrum Paul, 2014. "Global Warming: Technology, Preferences and Policy," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 234(2-3), pages 366-387, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:jns:jbstat:v:234:y:2014:i:2-3:p:366-387
    DOI: 10.1515/jbnst-2014-2-314
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2014-2-314
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/jbnst-2014-2-314?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vanessa Oltra & Maider Saint Jean, 2005. "The dynamics of environmental innovations: three stylised trajectories of clean technology," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 189-212.
    2. Cooper,Russell, 1999. "Coordination Games," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521578967, January.
    3. Brown, James & Hendry, Chris, 2009. "Public demonstration projects and field trials: Accelerating commercialisation of sustainable technology in solar photovoltaics," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 2560-2573, July.
    4. Michael Finus & Alejandro Caparrós (ed.), 2015. "Game Theory and International Environmental Cooperation," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15345.
    5. Neuhoff,Karsten, 2011. "Climate Policy after Copenhagen," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107008939.
    6. Stern,Nicholas, 2007. "The Economics of Climate Change," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521700801.
    7. Greif,Avner, 2006. "Institutions and the Path to the Modern Economy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521480444.
    8. Frank Beckenbach & Ramón Briegel, 2010. "Multi-agent modeling of economic innovation dynamics and its implications for analyzing emission impacts," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 317-341, August.
    9. Utterback, James M & Abernathy, William J, 1975. "A dynamic model of process and product innovation," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 3(6), pages 639-656, December.
    10. Gwilliam, Kenneth M. & Geerlings, Harry, 1994. "New technologies and their potential to reduce the environmental impact of transportation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 307-319, July.
    11. Partha Dasgupta, 2008. "Discounting climate change," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 141-169, December.
    12. Paul Windrum & Chris Birchenhall, 2005. "Structural change in the presence of network externalities: a co-evolutionary model of technological successions," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 123-148, January.
    13. Victor,David G., 2011. "Global Warming Gridlock," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521865012.
    14. Dosi, Giovanni, 1993. "Technological paradigms and technological trajectories : A suggested interpretation of the determinants and directions of technical change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 102-103, April.
    15. Raymond Vernon, 1966. "International Investment and International Trade in the Product Cycle," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 80(2), pages 190-207.
    16. Sandler,Todd, 2004. "Global Collective Action," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521834773.
    17. Martin J. Osborne & Ariel Rubinstein, 1994. "A Course in Game Theory," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262650401, December.
    18. Putnam, Robert D., 1988. "Diplomacy and domestic politics: the logic of two-level games," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(3), pages 427-460, July.
    19. Weber, Christopher L. & Matthews, H. Scott, 2008. "Quantifying the global and distributional aspects of American household carbon footprint," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 379-391, June.
    20. Sandler,Todd, 2004. "Global Collective Action," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521542548.
    21. Bansal, Sangeeta & Gangopadhyay, Shubhashis, 2003. "Tax/subsidy policies in the presence of environmentally aware consumers," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(2, Supple), pages 333-355, March.
    22. Binmore, Ken, 2005. "Natural Justice," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195178111, Decembrie.
    23. Desmarchelier, Benoît & Djellal, Faridah & Gallouj, Faïz, 2013. "Environmental policies and eco-innovations by service firms: An agent-based model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 80(7), pages 1395-1408.
    24. Atkinson, Anthony B & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1969. "A New View of Technological Change," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 79(315), pages 573-578, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michaël Aklin & Matto Mildenberger, 2020. "Prisoners of the Wrong Dilemma: Why Distributive Conflict, Not Collective Action, Characterizes the Politics of Climate Change," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 20(4), pages 4-27, Autumn.
    2. Safarzyńska, Karolina & Frenken, Koen & van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M., 2012. "Evolutionary theorizing and modeling of sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1011-1024.
    3. Buchholz Wolfgang & Heindl Peter, 2015. "Ökonomische Herausforderungen des Klimawandels," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 16(4), pages 324-350, December.
    4. Todd Sandler, 2017. "Environmental cooperation: contrasting international environmental agreements," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(2), pages 345-364.
    5. Joshua W. Busby & Johannes Urpelainen, 2020. "Following the Leaders? How to Restore Progress in Global Climate Governance," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 20(4), pages 99-121, Autumn.
    6. Auke Hoekstra & Maarten Steinbuch & Geert Verbong, 2017. "Creating Agent-Based Energy Transition Management Models That Can Uncover Profitable Pathways to Climate Change Mitigation," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2017, pages 1-23, December.
    7. Itzenplitz, Anja & Seifferth-Schmidt, Nicole, 2010. "Warum Klimakonferenzen scheitern, aber dennoch zum Wohl des Weltklimas kooperiert wird," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 67, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    8. Alejandro Caparrós & Michael Finus, 2020. "Public good agreements under the weakest‐link technology," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 22(3), pages 555-582, June.
    9. Alejandro Caparrós & Jean-Christophe Péreau, 2017. "Multilateral versus sequential negotiations over climate change," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(2), pages 365-387.
    10. Finus, Michael & Pintassilgo, Pedro, 2013. "The role of uncertainty and learning for the success of international climate agreements," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 29-43.
    11. Elinor Ostrom, 2016. "Nested Externalities and Polycentric Institutions: Must We Wait for Global Solutions to Climate Change Before Taking Actions at Other Scales?," Studies in Economic Theory, in: Graciela Chichilnisky & Armon Rezai (ed.), The Economics of the Global Environment, pages 259-276, Springer.
    12. Wolfgang Buchholz & Alexander Haupt & Wolfgang Peters, 2016. "Equity as a Prerequisite for Stability of Cooperation on Global Public Good Provision," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 65(1), pages 61-78, September.
    13. Vertova, Giovanna, 2002. "A historical investigation of the geography of innovative activities," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 259-283, September.
    14. Chantal Blouin, 2012. "Global Responses to Chronic Diseases: What Lessons Can Political Science Offer?," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 2(1), pages 1-15, March.
    15. Anne van Aaken & Janis Antonovics & Anne Aaken, 2016. "Is International Law Conducive To Preventing Looming Disasters?," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 7, pages 81-96, May.
    16. Marlene O’Sullivan, 2020. "Industrial life cycle: relevance of national markets in the development of new industries for energy technologies – the case of wind energy," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 1063-1107, September.
    17. Thomas Hale, 2020. "Catalytic Cooperation," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 20(4), pages 73-98, Autumn.
    18. DAUBANES Julien, 2009. "Changement climatique, instruments économiques et propositions pour un accord post-Kyoto : une synthèse," LERNA Working Papers 09.19.295, LERNA, University of Toulouse.
    19. Thomas Bernauer & Robert Gampfer & Aya Kachi, 2014. "European unilateralism and involuntary burden-sharing in global climate politics: A public opinion perspective from the other side," European Union Politics, , vol. 15(1), pages 132-151, March.
    20. Wolfgang Buchholz & Wolfgang Peters, 2005. "A Rawlsian Approach to International Cooperation," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 25-44, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:jns:jbstat:v:234:y:2014:i:2-3:p:366-387. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.