IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/genrir/v23y1998i2p151-165.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Voluntary Contributions with Uncertainty: The Environmental Quality

Author

Listed:
  • Pierre-André Jouvet

    (GREQAM, Marseille; GREMARS, University of Lille III)

Abstract

This article presents a model in which production causes pollution that diminishes the welfare of its agents. Each agent is concerned with the quality of its environment and may voluntary contribute to improve it by financing depollution technology. The effectiveness of this technology on the quality of the environment is uncertain. We show that if an agent is sufficiently risk averse, voluntary contribution is a decreasing function of the average efficiency of depollution technology. If, on the contrary, the pollution effect is weaker than the substitution effect, the opposite holds. We show that precaution about environmental quality has two possible consequences that depend on agents' risk aversion. Therefore, the implications of a precautionary attitude lead us to consider the agents' risk-aversion characterization, which implies knowledge about prudent attitude. The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Theory (1998) 23, 151–165. doi:10.1023/A:1008678228249

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre-André Jouvet, 1998. "Voluntary Contributions with Uncertainty: The Environmental Quality," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 23(2), pages 151-165, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:genrir:v:23:y:1998:i:2:p:151-165
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/grir/journal/v23/n2/pdf/grir1998107a.pdf
    File Function: Link to full text PDF
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/grir/journal/v23/n2/full/grir1998107a.html
    File Function: Link to full text HTML
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kimball, Miles S, 1990. "Precautionary Saving in the Small and in the Large," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(1), pages 53-73, January.
    2. Kimball, Miles S & Mankiw, N Gregory, 1989. "Precautionary Saving and the Timing of Taxes," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(4), pages 863-879, August.
    3. Gollier, C. & Jullien, B. & Treich, N., 1997. "Learning and Irreversibility: An Econmic Interpretation of the "Precautionnary Principle"," Papers 97.470, Toulouse - GREMAQ.
    4. Diamond, Peter A. & Stiglitz, Joseph E., 1974. "Increases in risk and in risk aversion," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 337-360, July.
    5. Kihlstrom, Richard E. & Mirman, Leonard J., 1974. "Risk aversion with many commodities," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 361-388, July.
    6. John, A & Pecchenino, R, 1994. "An Overlapping Generations Model of Growth and the Environment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(427), pages 1393-1410, November.
    7. Warr, Peter G., 1983. "The private provision of a public good is independent of the distribution of income," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 207-211.
    8. Warr, Peter G., 1982. "Pareto optimal redistribution and private charity," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 131-138, October.
    9. Bernheim, B Douglas & Bagwell, Kyle, 1988. "Is Everything Neutral?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(2), pages 308-338, April.
    10. Graciela Chichilnisky & Geoffrey Heal, 1993. "Global Environmental Risks," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(4), pages 65-86, Fall.
    11. Hayne E. Leland, 1968. "Saving and Uncertainty: The Precautionary Demand for Saving," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 82(3), pages 465-473.
    12. Feldstein, Martin, 1988. "The Effects of Fiscal Policies when Incomes Are Uncertain: A Contradiction to Ricardian Equivalence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(1), pages 14-23, March.
    13. Marini Giancarlo & Scaramozzino Pasquale, 1995. "Overlapping Generations and Environmental Control," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 64-77, July.
    14. repec:bla:scandj:v:88:y:1986:i:1:p:141-49 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Philippe Michel & Gilles Rotillon, 1995. "Disutility of pollution and endogenous growth," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 6(3), pages 279-300, October.
    16. repec:bla:econom:v:67:y:2000:i:268:p:465-75 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Carlotta Balestra & Davide Dottori, 2012. "Aging society, health and the environment," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(3), pages 1045-1076, July.
    2. Johanna Etner & Meglena Jeleva & Pierre‐Andre Jouvet, 2009. "Pessimism Or Optimism: A Justification To Voluntary Contributions Toward Environmental Quality," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 308-319, December.
    3. Vladimir Udalov, 2014. "Political-Economic Aspects of Renewable Energy: Voting on the Level of Renewable Energy Support," EIIW Discussion paper disbei202, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.

    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. Etner, Johanna & Jeleva, Meglena & Jouvet, Pierre-Andre, 2007. "Risk perceptions, voluntary contributions and environmental policy," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 130-139, September.
    2. Hubbard, R. Glenn & Skinner, Jonathan & Zeldes, Stephen P., 1994. "The importance of precautionary motives in explaining individual and aggregate saving," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 59-125, June.
    3. Laurence Kotlikoff & Felix Kubler & Andrey Polbin & Simon Scheidegger, 2021. "Pareto-improving carbon-risk taxation [The environment and directed technical change]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 36(107), pages 551-589.
    4. Mark Huggett, 2004. "Precautionary Wealth Accumulation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 71(3), pages 769-781.
    5. Laurence J. Kotlikoff & Andrey V. ZUBAREV & Andrey POLBIN, 2021. "Will the Paris accord accelerate climate change [Ускоряет Ли Парижское Соглашение Изменение Климата?]," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 1, pages 8-37, February.
    6. Chou, Shin-Yi & Liu, Jin-Tan & Hammitt, James K., 2003. "National Health Insurance and precautionary saving: evidence from Taiwan," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(9-10), pages 1873-1894, September.
    7. Mouez Fodha, 2010. "Could environmental public policy be harmful for the environment?," Recherches économiques de Louvain, De Boeck Université, vol. 76(4), pages 371-390.
    8. Hui Chen & Jianjun Miao & Neng Wang, 2010. "Entrepreneurial Finance and Nondiversifiable Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(12), pages 4348-4388, December.
    9. Jouini, Elyès & Napp, Clotilde & Nocetti, Diego, 2013. "On multivariate prudence," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 148(3), pages 1255-1267.
    10. Kimball, Miles S, 1993. "Standard Risk Aversion," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(3), pages 589-611, May.
    11. Nocetti, Diego & Smith, William T., 2011. "Price uncertainty, saving, and welfare," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1139-1149, July.
    12. Robinson, James A. & Srinivasan, T.N., 1993. "Long-term consequences of population growth: Technological change, natural resources, and the environment," Handbook of Population and Family Economics, in: M. R. Rosenzweig & Stark, O. (ed.), Handbook of Population and Family Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 21, pages 1175-1298, Elsevier.
    13. Vergara, Marcos, 2017. "Precautionary saving: A taxonomy of prudence," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 18-20.
    14. Lee, Daeyong, 2016. "Effects of dependent coverage mandate on household precautionary savings: Evidence from the 2010 Affordable Care Act," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 32-37.
    15. Diego Nocetti & William T. Smith, 2011. "Precautionary Saving and Endogenous Labor Supply with and without Intertemporal Expected Utility," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(7), pages 1475-1504, October.
    16. Michel Denuit & Louis Eeckhoudt & Mario Menegatti, 2011. "Correlated risks, bivariate utility and optimal choices," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 46(1), pages 39-54, January.
    17. Samuel Wills, 2015. "Seven Principles for Managing Resource Wealth," Economics Series Working Papers OxCarre Research Paper 15, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    18. Chen, Kevin & Meilke, Karl & Turvey, Calum, 1996. "Theory of Prudent Farm Households and Agricultural Insurance," Working Papers 244799, University of Guelph, Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    19. Johanna Etner & Meglena Jeleva & Pierre‐Andre Jouvet, 2009. "Pessimism Or Optimism: A Justification To Voluntary Contributions Toward Environmental Quality," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 308-319, December.
    20. Roberto Ricciuti, 2003. "Assessing Ricardian Equivalence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(1), pages 55-78, February.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • Q29 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Other

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:pal:genrir:v:23:y:1998:i:2:p:151-165. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave-journals.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.