We synthesized a range of geographically-explicit forest, grassland and cropland biomass and soil carbon input data sources and used geographic information systems (GIS) software to calculate new estimates of soil and biomass carbon stocks for use with global economic models, particularly for...

With the recent adoption by the California Air Resources Board of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and USEPA’s Energy Independence and Security Act, greenhouse gas releases from indirect land use change triggered by crop-based biofuels have taken center stage in the debate over the...

Contrary to the opinions expressed by many commentators, the recent price spike in agricultural commodities is a transitory phenomenon. Using projections from SIMPLE – a global model of the farm and food system – we argue that, in the long run, food prices will most likely resume their...

The purpose of this note is to provide an exhaustive reference for those interested in learning more about the Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) function and its use in the representation of producer behavior in the GTAP Model. Particular attention is paid to the role of technical change...

The universe of existing CGE models can be divided into 3 broad categories. The first class of models (of which the standard GTAP Model is a classic example) emphasizes the static effects of policy related to general equilibrium resource reallocation. The second involves scale economics and...

February 1999 This paper discusses the implementation of embodied international technology spillovers in the GTAP Model. We specify a transmission mechanism for technical knowledge that assumes that knowledge is embodied in traded commodities. The usability of knowledge in the receiving country...

The economics literature increasingly recognizes the importance of migration and its ties with many other aspects of development and policy. Examples include the role of international remittances (Harrison et al, 2003) or those immigrant-links underpinning the migration-trade nexus (Gould,...

This paper outlines an approach to disaggregating labor payments in the GTAP, global economic data base. The split between low- and high-skilled labor is based on occupational data. High-skilled labor is assumed to consist of managers, administrators, professionals, and para-professionals. Data...

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models have been widely used for quantitative analysis of global economic issues. However, CGE models are frequently criticized for resting on weak empirical foundations. This paper builds on recent work in macro-econometric estimation, developing an approach...

“Globalization increases poverty” is a common assertion made by critics of globalization. The proliferation of low-wage jobs and higher food prices are some of the arguments brought forward in support of this argument. One of the hallmarks of globalization is the systematic dismantling of...