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Assessing the Land Use Changes and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Biofuels: Elucidating the Crop Yield Effects

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  • Alexandre Gohin

Abstract

Available estimates of the land use changes and greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels differ significantly across economic models. This paper focuses on the impacts of price-induced yield assumptions on U.S. corn ethanol results. These assumptions have dramatic impacts within the FAPRI modeling framework, but limited ones within the GTAP-BIO model. I show that these sensitivity to yield assumption results are not comparable because the ex ante land and production elasticities assumed in these two models are not comparable. The analysis reveals that the current focus solely on the value of the price-induced yield elasticity can be misleading.

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  • Alexandre Gohin, 2014. "Assessing the Land Use Changes and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Biofuels: Elucidating the Crop Yield Effects," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 90(4), pages 575-586.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:landec:v:90:y:2014:i:4:p:575-586
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alain Carpentier & Elodie Letort, 2012. "Accounting for Heterogeneity in Multicrop Micro-Econometric Models: Implications for Variable Input Demand Modeling," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 94(1), pages 209-224.
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    6. David Laborde & Hugo Valin, 2012. "MODELING LAND-USE CHANGES IN A GLOBAL CGE: ASSESSING THE EU BIOFUEL MANDATES WITH THE MIRAGE-BioF MODEL," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 3(03), pages 1-39.
    7. Thomas W. Hertel, 2011. "The Global Supply and Demand for Agricultural Land in 2050: A Perfect Storm in the Making?-super- 1," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 93(2), pages 259-275.
    8. Alla A. Golub & Thomas W. Hertel, 2012. "Modeling Land-Use Change Impacts Of Biofuels In The Gtap-Bio Framework," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 3(03), pages 1-30.
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    Cited by:

    1. T. Brunelle & P. Dumas & W. Ben Aoun & Benoit Gabrielle, 2018. "Unravelling Land-Use Change Mechanisms at Global and Regional Scales," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Alexandre Gohin, 2015. "Understanding the revised land use changes and greenhouse gas emissions induced by biofuels," Working Papers SMART 15-08, INRAE UMR SMART.
    3. Bruce A. Babcock & Zabid Iqbal, 2014. "Using Recent Land Use Changes to Validate Land Use Change Models," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 14-sr109, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    4. Gohin, Alexandre, 2015. "Understanding the revised land use changes and greenhouse gas emissions induced by biofuels," Working Papers 208914, Institut National de la recherche Agronomique (INRA), Departement Sciences Sociales, Agriculture et Alimentation, Espace et Environnement (SAE2).
    5. Iglesias Pinedo, Wilman J., 2021. "The impact of Renewable Energy Standards on the biomass supply and agricultural land demand in the US Great Plains Region," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 314085, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Hyunseok Kim & GianCarlo Moschini, 2018. "The Dynamics of Supply: U.S. Corn and Soybeans in the Biofuel Era," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 94(4), pages 593-613.
    7. Gohin, Alexandre, 2016. "Understanding the revised CARB estimates of the land use changes and greenhouse gas emissions induced by biofuels," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 402-412.
    8. Sampson, Gabriel S. & Al-Sudani, Amer & Bergtold, Jason, 2021. "Local irrigation response to ethanol expansion in the High Plains Aquifer," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    9. Debnath, Deepayan & Whistance, Jarrett & Thompson, Wyatt, 2017. "The causes of two-way U.S.–Brazil ethanol trade and the consequences for greenhouse gas emission," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 2045-2053.
    10. Basak Bayramoglu & Jean-François Jacques, 2016. "The economic and environmental effects of a biofuel mandate policy: the case of France [Les effets économiques et environnementaux d’une politique d’incorporation obligatoire de biocarburants : le ," Post-Print hal-02877013, HAL.
    11. Ehsanreza Sajedinia & Wallace E. Tyner, 2021. "Use of General Equilibrium Models in Evaluating Biofuels Policies," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Peter Dixon & Joseph Francois & Dominique van der Mensbrugghe (ed.), POLICY ANALYSIS AND MODELING OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY A Festschrift Celebrating Thomas Hertel, chapter 14, pages 437-465, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    12. Sajedinia, Ehsanreza & Tyner, Wally, 2017. "Use of General Equilibrium Models in Evaluating Biofuels Policies," Conference papers 332885, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Q11 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy

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