Publications

From individual fuzzy cognitive maps to agent based models: modelling multi-factorial and multi-stakeholder decision-making for water scarcity

Working paper by Sara Mehryar, Richard Sliuzas, Nina Schwarz, Ali Sharifi, Martin van Maarseveen on 29 Aug 2019

The authors of this paper develop an integrated modelling methodology combining an Agent-Based Model with Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping and use it to simulate impacts of policy options addressing the problems of water scarcity for a farming community in Rafsanjan, Iran. read more »

Carbon taxes and stranded assets: Evidence from Washington state

Working paper by Stefano Carattini, Suphi Sen on 6 Aug 2019

The authors of this paper show that while a convergence towards relatively high carbon prices is more than welcome from a climate perspective, central banks and other agencies responsible for financial stability may need to play close attention to such development. read more »

Global lessons for the UK in carbon taxes

Policy publication by Josh Burke, Rebecca Byrnes, Sam Fankhauser on 2 Aug 2019

This policy brief analyses global trends in carbon taxation and differences in tax design around the world to draw out lessons for the design of a possible new carbon tax for the UK, as the country plans how to meet its ambitious new net-zero emissions target and how it prices carbon after Brexit. read more »

Global trends in climate change litigation: 2019 snapshot

Policy publication by Joana Setzer, Rebecca Byrnes on 4 Jul 2019

This policy report provides an overview of current issues in climate change litigation, focusing on selected cases and developments from May 2018 to May 2019. The report draws on the Climate Change Laws of the World database and the U.S. Climate Change Litigation database. Headline issues Climate change litigation continues to expand across jurisdictions as […]

Governance of climate change policy: A case study of South Africa

Policy publication by Alina Averchenkova, Kate Elizabeth Gannon, Patrick Curran on 26 Jun 2019

This report and accompanying 8-page brief examine some of the emerging challenges in climate governance in South Africa and potential solutions. The lessons identified are also relevant for other developing economies. read more »

Pricing ambiguity in catastrophe risk insurance

Working paper by Simon Dietz, Falk Niehörster on 23 May 2019

The authors of this paper apply a newly developed insurance pricing model to two catastrophe model data sets relating to hurricane risk in two locations in the Atlantic basin, estimating ambiguity loads – the extra insurance premium due to ambiguity – and showing how these depend on the insurer’s attitude to ambiguity. read more »

How to price carbon to reach net-zero emissions in the UK

Policy publication by Josh Burke, Sam Fankhauser on 22 May 2019

This report sets out the importance of pricing carbon as a key component of any strategy to reach net-zero emissions in the UK – that is, balancing carbon emissions with carbon removal. read more »

The role of power prices in structural transformation: Evidence from the Philippines

Research article by Majah-Leah Ravago, Arlan Brucal, James Roumasset, Jan Carlo Punongbayan on 14 May 2019

The Philippines provides an extreme example of Rodrik’s observation that late developing countries experience deindustrialization at lower levels of per capita income than more advanced economies. Previous studies point … read more »

Do energy efficiency standards hurt consumers? Evidence from household appliance sales

Research article by Arlan Brucal, Michael Roberts on 14 May 2019

We build novel welfare-based price indices for major household appliances that leverage changes in same-model prices and how consumers substitute between exiting, continuing and new models. We then evaluate … read more »

China’s 14th Plan, sustainable development and the new era

Policy publication by Isabella Neuweg, Nicholas Stern on 7 May 2019

Headline issues Wellbeing, quality and sustainability: the new focuses of China’s transformation The 14th Five-Year Plan (covering 2021–25) will be a crucial element in shaping the new era, for China and for the world. China’s transformation has seen it rise from low-income to upper-middle-income status in just over four decades. China will transform again in […]