Consulta: creatorFacets:"Harrington,   Winston"
Registros recuperados: 22
Data/hora: 13/06/2024 05:38:57

The Enhanced I/M Program in Arizona: Costs, Effectiveness, and a Comparison with Pre-regulatory Estimates
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Harrington,   Winston; McConnell,   Virginia D.; Ando,   Amy Whritenour.
Using data from 1995 and 1996, we estimate the cost of the Arizona Enhanced I/M Program and the emission reductions achieved. We begin by enumerating briefly the components of I/M costs and discuss their size and incidence. Then we describe the empirical information from Arizona and how we use it to construct cost estimates for both vehicle inspection and repair of failing vehicles. Inspection costs include the costs of operating the test stations and the costs motorists incur in time and money to get to the station and go through the testing process. We find that the inspection costs account for over two-thirds of the full costs of I/M, while costs associated with actual vehicle repair account for only one third. We conclude by comparing the empirical...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: I/M cost-effectiveness; Vehicle emissions; Mobile sources; Environmental Economics and Policy; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; Q25.
Ano: 1999
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10867

Estimating Full IM240 Emissions from Partial Test Results: Evidence from Arizona
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Ando,   Amy Whritenour; Harrington,   Winston; McConnell,   Virginia D.
The expense and inconvenience of enhanced vehicle emissions testing using the full 240-second dynamometer test has led states to search for ways to shorten the test process. In fact, all states that currently use the IM240 allow some type of fast-pass, usually as early in the test as second 31, and Arizona allows vehicles to fast-fail after second 93. While these shorter tests save states millions of dollars in inspection lanes and driver costs, there is a loss in information since test results are no longer comparable across vehicles. This paper presents a methodology for estimating full 240 second results from partial-test results for three pollutants: HC, CO and NOx. Using random sample of vehicles in Arizona which received full 240 second tests, we use...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Inspection and maintenance; Mobile source; Fast pass; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25.
Ano: 1998
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10734

Should Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards Be Tightened?
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Parry,   Ian W.H.; Fischer,   Carolyn; Harrington,   Winston.
This paper develops analytical models to estimate the welfare effects of higher Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards on new passenger vehicles. The analysis incorporates a broad range of fuel-and-driving-related externalities, fuel taxes, different assumptions concerning consumers' valuation of fuel saving technologies and their alternative value in enhancing other vehicle attributes, and endogenous vehicle fleet composition. To implement the analysis, we develop estimates of CAFE's impact on local pollution, nationwide congestion, and traffic accidents. We find that higher fuel economy standards can produce anything from moderate welfare gains, to very little or no effect, to substantial welfare losses, depending on how consumers value fuel...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Fuel economy standards; Oil dependency; Carbon emissions; Rebound effect; Gasoline tax; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; R48; Q48; H23.
Ano: 2004
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10605

Economies of Scale and Technical Efficiency in Community Water Systems
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Shih,   Jhih-Shyang; Harrington,   Winston; Pizer,   William A.; Gillingham,   Kenneth.
In this study we use datasets from the 1995 and 2000 Community Water Supply surveys to examine the production costs of water supply systems. We first estimate the economies of scale in water supply by estimating the total unit cost as well as individual component cost elasticities. For total unit cost elasticity, we find that a 1% increase in production reduces unit costs by a statistically significant 0.16%. For individual component cost elasticities, we find that higher economies of scale exist in capital costs, outside costs, other costs, and materials costs; labor costs and energy costs exhibit lower but still positive economies of scale. These economies of scale may reflect production economies or suggest that larger systems are better than smaller...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Small water systems; Water supply; Capacity development; Economies of scale; Community water systems; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; Q25; Q28.
Ano: 2004
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10788

Regulating Industrial Water Pollution in the United States
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Harrington,   Winston.
The performance of the industrial point-source water pollution abatement program in the U.S. Clean Water Act is examined. I begin with a brief description of the statute and then turn to a description of the process used to develop the rules that govern effluent discharges. This is followed by a discussion of the outcomes resulting from efforts to apply these rules to industrial pollutant sources. Two types of outcomes are considered: administrative outcomes and outcomes in the water. Last, the issue of implementation is discussed: how the Clean Water Act may have affected the incentives governing the behavior of industrial dischargers, municipal waste treatment plant operators, and regulators. Surprisingly, there is some evidence that the Clean Water Act,...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Effluent guidelines; Indirect dischargers; Water quality; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25; Q28.
Ano: 2003
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10608

Using Alternative Regulatory Instruments to Control Fixed Point Air Pollution in Developing Countries: Lessons from International Experience
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Blackman,   Allen; Harrington,   Winston.
Should developing countries eschew conventional command and control regulatory instruments that are increasingly seen as inefficient and rely instead on 'alternative' instruments based on economic incentives and community pressure? This paper addresses this question as it pertains to fixed point air pollution. The paper discusses the theoretical advantages and disadvantages of alternative instruments, reviews both industrialized country and developing country experiences with them, and proposes a number of policy guidelines. We argue that regulators in developing countries typically operate under severe financial and institutional constraints. Given these constraints, pure economic incentive instruments are generally not practical since they involve...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Market based instruments; Economic incentives; Informal regulation; Developing country; Industrial air pollution; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25; Q28; O13.
Ano: 1998
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10689

Costs, Emissions Reductions, and Vehicle Repair: Evidence from Arizona
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Ando,   Amy Whritenour; McConnell,   Virginia D.; Harrington,   Winston.
The Arizona I/M program provides one of the first opportunities to examine the costs and effectiveness of vehicle emission repair. This paper examines various aspects of emission reductions, fuel economy improvements, and costs of repair, drawing data from over 80,000 vehicles failing the I/M test in Arizona between 1995 and the first half of 1996. We summarize the wealth of repair data from the Arizona program and highlight its limitations. Because missing or incomplete cost information has been a serious shortcoming for evaluation of I/M programs, we develop a method for estimating the costs of repair when those costs are not reported. We find surprising evidence that almost one quarter of all vehicles that take the I/M test are never observed to pass...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: I/M; Repair; Emissions; Mobile sources; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25; R48.
Ano: 1999
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10915

Technology Adoption and Aggregate Energy Efficiency
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Pizer,   William A.; Harrington,   Winston; Kopp,   Raymond J.; Morgenstern,   Richard D.; Shih,   Jhih-Shyang.
Improved technology is often cited as a means to alter the otherwise difficult trade-off between the economic burden of regulation and environmental damage. Focusing on energy-saving technologies that mitigate the threat of climate change, we find that both energy prices and financial health influence technology adoption among a sample of industrial plants in four heavily polluting sectors. Based on a model linking technology adoption to growth in aggregate efficiency, we estimate that a doubling of energy prices, after raising the growth rate to 2.1%, would require slightly more than 50 years to generate a 50% improvement in aggregate efficiency relative to the baseline forecast.
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Energy efficiency; Endogenous technological change; Technology adoption; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; O31; O38; Q43; Q48.
Ano: 2002
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10616

Overcoming Public Aversion to Congestion Pricing
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Harrington,   Winston; Krupnick,   Alan J.; Alberini,   Anna.
Transportation authorities have consistently failed to employ economic incentives on major roadways--i.e. time-of-day pricing or "congestion fees"--to internalize the costs of congestion. In principle at least, such tolls can easily be shown to increase social welfare by making motorists pay something closer to the full social costs of their driving decisions. In addition, recent advances in electronics make it possible to implement such fees fairly cheaply and non-intrusively. While these same authorities generally understand and acknowledge the case for using congestion fees, they also claim that their use is politically infeasible because too many motorists would suffer large increases in commuting costs. This is the puzzle: If congestion tolls truly do...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Congestion; HOT lanes; Freeways; Time-of-day pricing; Public Economics; R41.
Ano: 1998
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10730

Welfare and Distributional Effects of Road Pricing Schemes for Metropolitan Washington, DC
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Safirova,   Elena; Gillingham,   Kenneth; Parry,   Ian W.H.; Nelson,   Peter; Harrington,   Winston; Mason,   David.
Economists have long advocated congestion pricing as an efficient way of allocating scarce roadway capacity. However, with a few exceptions, congestion tolls are rarely used in practice and strongly opposed by the public and elected officials. Although high implementation costs and privacy issues are alleviated as appropriate technologies are developed, the concerns that congestion pricing will adversely affect low-income travelers remain. In this paper, we use a strategic transportation planning model calibrated for the Washington, DC, metropolitan area to compare the welfare and distributional effects of three pricing schemes: value pricing (HOT lanes), limited congestion pricing, and comprehensive congestion pricing. We find that social welfare gains...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Traffic congestion; Congestion pricing; Value pricing; HOT lanes; HOV lanes; Public Economics; R40; R41; R48; H23.
Ano: 2003
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10697

Learning from Experiments: An Evaluation Plan for CMAQ Projects
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Farrell,   Deirdre; Harrington,   Winston; Krupnick,   Alan J.
The Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality Program (CMAQ), established in 1991 by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) to provide about $1 billion per year to fund transportation projects that improve air quality, is intended both to support traditional transportation control measures and to encourage innovation in developing new strategies and technologies for controlling emissions from transportation sources. While the program has indeed encouraged some innovative approaches to local transportation and air quality problems, critics see it as a diversion of funds that could more usefully be devoted to conventional highway improvement projects. The current debate in Congress over the reauthorization of ISTEA and, specifically, the CMAQ...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Project evaluation; Transportation and environment; Public Economics; R410; Q250.
Ano: 1998
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10744

Evaluating Regulatory Impact Analyses
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Harrington,   Winston; Morgenstern,   Richard D.
Federal agencies in the United States are required to prepare regulatory impact analyses (RIAs) for every major regulatory action they undertake. Increasingly, other OECD countries are imposing similar requirements. However, there has been little examination of the quality of these documents or of the uses to which they have been put in the regulatory process or elsewhere. In this paper we survey previous efforts to evaluate RIAs and find a fair amount of evaluation of RIAs as stand-alone documents, but much less evaluation of their contribution to producing better regulations.
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Regulation; RIA; Benefit-cost analysis; Cost-effectiveness analysis; Environmental Economics and Policy; H11; H43.
Ano: 2004
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10774

Who's in the Driver's Seat? Mobile Source Policy in the U.S. Federal System
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Harrington,   Winston; McConnell,   Virginia D.; Walls,   Margaret.
Regulation of mobile source emissions in the US has evolved as a complex combination of central government and decentralized authority. The central government required uniform new car emissions standards in the 1970 Clean Air Act, but gave states the power to meet ambient air quality standards however they saw fit, including various regulations on mobile sources. The 1990 Amendments to the Act strengthened the Federal role in some ways, by requiring tighter new car standards and more specific requirements for fuels and for vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance, but at the same time left states with a great deal of latitude to meet ambient standards and took greater recognition of regional variation in environmental problems. We examine the role of...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Mobile source; Federalism; Public Economics; Q25; Q28.
Ano: 1996
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10636

The Use of Economic Incentives in Developing Countries: Lessons from International Experience with Industrial Air Pollution
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Blackman,   Allen; Harrington,   Winston.
To what extent should developing countries eschew conventional command and control environmental regulation that is increasingly seen as inefficient and rely instead on economic incentives? This paper addresses this question as it pertains to industrial air pollution. The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various economic incentive instruments, presents in-depth case studies of their application in Sweden, the United States, China, and Poland, and proposes a number of policy guidelines. We argue that both design deficiencies and pervasive constraints on monitoring and enforcement impede the effectiveness of economic instruments in developing countries. The latter are difficult to rectify, at least in the medium term. As a result, tradable...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Environmental policy; Economic incentives; Market-based instruments; Developing countries; Air pollution; Sweden; China; Poland; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25; Q28.
Ano: 1999
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10601

The Economics of Fuel Economy Standards
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Portney,   Paul R.; Parry,   Ian W.H.; Gruenspecht,   Howard K.; Harrington,   Winston.
This paper discusses several rationales for the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program, including reduced oil dependence, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and the possibility that fuel saving benefits from higher standards might exceed added vehicle costs. We then summarize what can be said about the welfare effects of tightening standards, accounting for prior fuel taxes, and perverse effects on congestion and traffic accidents through the impact of improved fuel economy on the incentive to drive. Implications of CAFE on local air pollution, and the controversy over CAFE, vehicle weight, and road safety, are also discussed. Finally, we describe ways in which the existing CAFE program could be substantially improved and identify a variety of...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Fuel economy; Externalities; Oil dependency; Vehicle safety; Climate change; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; R48; Q48; H23.
Ano: 2003
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10863

Public Support for Pollution Fee Policies for Motor Vehicles: Survey Results
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Krupnick,   Alan J.; Harrington,   Winston; Alberini,   Anna.
In this paper we report on the results of a telephone survey conducted in Southern California during August and September 1996. The purpose of the survey was to inform respondents about a set of rather complex pricing policies designed to reduce motor vehicle emissions and to estimate respondent support for those policies. After receiving extensive information about these policies, respondents were polled on whether they would support, i.e., vote for, any or all of these options. The pollution fee survey elicited support for a plan that levied a fee on vehicles in the region, depending on the vehicle's emissions per mile and on the miles driven. The sample was then split in two, with half the respondents being told that a portion of the revenues would be...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Mobile sources; Survey; Emissions fees; Environmental Economics and Policy; R41; Q28.
Ano: 1996
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10469

A Behavioral Analysis of EPA's MOBILE Emission Factor Model
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Harrington,   Winston; McConnell,   Virginia D.; Cannon,   Matthew.
This paper examines the behavioral and stochastic aspects of modeling emission reductions from vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) programs. Forecasts of the potential emission reductions from such programs have been modeled by the use of the Environmental Protection Agency's MOBILE Model, EPA's computer model for estimating emission factors for mobile sources. We examine the structure of this Model and review the way behavior of drivers, mechanics and state regulatory authorities is incorporated in the current generation of the Model. We focus particularly on assumptions about vehicle repair under I/M, compliance with I/M requirements, and the impact of test measurement error on predicted I/M effectiveness. We also include some preliminary...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Emission reduction; Vehicle inspection and maintenance program; Environmental Economics and Policy.
Ano: 1998
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10676

Fleet Turnover and Old Car Scrap Policies
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Alberini,   Anna; Harrington,   Winston; McConnell,   Virginia D.
This paper incorporates owners' decisions to keep, repair or scrap their old vehicles into a simulation model of fleet emissions. This decision depends critically on the owner's perceived value of the vehicle, so we examine the factors affecting owners' valuations of their old vehicles using a unique longitudinal dataset. Willingness to accept for the vehicle is well predicted by mileage and condition of the car, and declines systematically with its age. Our estimated model of vehicle value is used as an input into a simulation model of a 1,000-car fleet representative of California's fleet. Other inputs into the simulation models are the estimated distributions of emissions in the fleet, and two equations that link emissions reductions to the cost of...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Mobile source; Inspection and maintenance; I/M; Scrappage; Emission fees; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; Q25.
Ano: 1998
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10897

Improving the Accuracy of UK Regulatory Cost Estimates
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: MacLeod,   Michael J.; Moran,   Dominic; Harrington,   Winston; Lago,   Manuel; Morgenstern,   Richard D.
UK Government departments are required to undertake a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) when introducing any policy change that places a burden on businesses, charities, the voluntary sector or individuals. Part of this assessment involves the appraisal of the costs (and benefits) associated with complying with all the available options, as well as the wider economic costs. Recent evidence has suggested that the compliance costs, when assessed ex post, tend to be lower than the ex ante assessment made beforehand (see e.g. Harrington et al 1999). Accurate cost estimates are important as errors can lead to under or over regulation. This, in turn, can result in growth and innovation being hindered or, in the case of under regulation, growth being achieved at...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Public Economics.
Ano: 2001
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/45874

Modeling Economywide versus Sectoral Climate Policies Using Combined Aggregate-Sectoral Models
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Pizer,   William A.; Burtraw,   Dallas; Harrington,   Winston; Newell,   Richard G.; Sanchirico,   James N.
Economic analyses of climate change policies frequently focus on reductions of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions via market-based, economywide policies. The current course of environment and energy policy debate in the United States, however, suggests an alternative outcome: inefficiently designed and/or sector-based policies. This paper uses a collection of specialized, sector-based models in conjunction with a computable general equilibrium model of the economy to examine and compare these policies at an aggregate level. We examine the relative cost of different policies designed to achieve the same quantity of emissions reductions. We find that excluding a limited number of sectors from an economywide policy does not significantly raise costs....
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Climate change; Climate policy; General equilibrium model; Partial equilibrium model; Cost; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25; D58; D61; Q48.
Ano: 2005
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10502

Coase and Car Repair: Who Should Be Responsible for Emissions of Vehicles in Use?
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Harrington,   Winston; McConnell,   Virginia D.
This paper examines the current assignment of liability for in-use vehicle emissions and suggests some alternative policies that may reduce the cost and increase the effectiveness. We first discuss the cost, performance and incentives under current Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) programs, using the recently implemented Arizona "Enhanced I/M" program as an example. These programs were designed to identify and repair vehicles with malfunctioning emission control systems. Since their inception, however, I/M programs have been plagued by transaction costs that have drastically raised the cost of I/M as well as limited its effectiveness. These transaction costs fall into three categories: emission monitoring, repair avoidance, and non-transferability of...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Mobile sources; Emissions; Coase; Liability; I/M; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25; Q28; R48.
Ano: 1999
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10911

On the Accuracy of Regulatory Cost Estimates
Provedor de dados: 31
Autores: Harrington,   Winston; Morgenstern,   Richard D.; Nelson,   Peter.
This study compares ex ante estimates of the direct costs of individual regulations to ex post assessments of the same regulations. Our review of more than two dozen environmental and occupational safety regulations indicates that ex ante estimates of total (direct) costs have tended to exceed actuals. We find this to be true of 12 of the 25 rules in our data set, while for only 6 were the ex ante estimates too low. The overestimation of total costs is often due to errors in the quantity of emission reductions achieved by the rule which, in turn, suggest that the rule's benefits may also be overestimated. The quantity errors are driven by both baseline and compliance issues. At least for EPA and OSHA rules, overestimation of per-unit abatement costs occurs...
Tipo: Working or Discussion Paper
Palavras-chave: Environmental costs; Costing accuracy; Innovation and regulation; Demand and Price Analysis; D82; K23; Q28.
Ano: 1999
URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10894