The authors assert that the time is ripe for the United States and Europe to take the lead on shepherding a systems-level change in the recycling market, strengthened by government regulation and legislation. They examine the economic, social, and environmental impacts of mismanaged waste and argue that the Covid-19 pandemic could serve as a catalyst for action toward a global, circular economy.
On September 16, energy fellow Michelle Michot Foss provided an overview of the role of critical minerals in creating a clean economy during testimony before the U.S. House of Representative's Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change. She also discussed the challenges associated with energy transitions, including import dependency and considerations for meeting environment, social and governance (ESG) goals.
In this paper, authors examine the concerns raised by a new wealth tax and analyze the economic effects of the tax using a computable general equilibrium model.
John W. Diamond, George R. ZodrowSeptember 15, 2020
The September 2020 HPR newsletter considers whether freestanding emergency departments lower market spending on emergency care by serving as lower-cost substitutes for hospital emergency departments..
Public finance fellow Joyce Beebe examines a new approach that states have been exploring to secure additional revenue during the Covid-19 pandemic — imposing excise taxes on sports betting and daily fantasy sports. Baker Institute Blog: https://bit.ly/3jNT85Z
In a post for the Baker Institute Blog, Joyce Beebe reviews current developments in state and federal paid sick leave policies, and examines key arguments of proponents and detractors.
This brief examines the legality of the decrees issued by the National Center for the Control of Energy (CENACE) and the Department of Energy (SENER) in Mexico earlier this year, which were intended to prevent renewable energy companies from connecting to the transmission grid.
The global financial cost of Covid-19 could top $15 trillion. But governments could prevent future pandemics by investing as little as $22 billion a year in programs to curb wildlife trafficking and stem the destruction of tropical forests, according to an international team of scientists including Baker Institute Faculty Scholar Ted Loch-Temzelides.
Ted Loch-Temzelides, Andrew Dobson, Stuart Pimm, Lee Hannah, Les Kaufman, Jorge Ahumada, Amy Ando, Aaron Bernstein, Jonah Busch, Peter Daszak, Jens Engelmann, Margaret Kinnaird, Binbin Li, Thomas Lovejoy, Katarzyna Nowak, Patrick Roehrdanz, Mariana ValeJuly 24, 2020
The authors identify bottlenecks in the oil the oil and gas value chain that physically cause upstream flaring at the well; analyze the economic reasons for flaring, market distortions that could exacerbate it, and the cost to society of flaring, then lay out an agenda for researchers and policymakers.
Mark Agerton, Ben Gilbert, Gregory Upton Jr.July 22, 2020