Traditionally, voluntary measures have been evaluated using the same framework regardless of their structure. The framework assumes that the measure provides partners with a treatment (information, research support, etc) that will not be transferred to nonpartners. In this framework, a voluntary...

In the last decade, voluntary environmental programs have increased considerably in scope. A novel use of these programs is to di¤use new technology in industry as means to improving their environmental outcomes. This paper tests whether the US Environmental Protection Agency s Combined...

Policy shocks affect the rent distribution in long-term contracts, which can lead to such contracts being renegotiated. We seek an understanding of what aspects of contract design, in the face of a substantial policy shock, affect the propensity to renegotiate. We test our hypotheses using data...

The use of long-term contracts in the procurement of coal for electricity generation is common. The data that is observed from contracts and their transactions are from different levels of the pricing process. Contracts contain the parameters by which all future deliveries are structured,...

Prior to adoption of the 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA) most U.S. power plants used once-through cooling water systems that discharged large quantities of warm water and resulted in significant amounts of thermal pollution in neighboring bodies of water. The CWA essentially mandated recirculating...

Much attention in recent years has turned to the potential of behavioural insights to improve the performance of government policy. One behavioural concept of interest is the effect of a cash transfer label on how the transfer is spent. The Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) is a labelled cash transfer...

A number of countries offer domestic consumers the option of buying their electricity supply through a ‘green tariff', whereby the supplier typically guarantees that all or part of the supply has been generated using renewable energy sources. Various studies have sought to identify variables...

In the UK, the largest proportion of household energy use is for space heating. Popular media make claims of a green hypocrisy: groups which have the strongest attitude towards the environment have the highest emissions. This study examines whether environmental attitudes and behaviours are...

The UK government introduced the Renewable Obligation (RO), a system of tradable quotas, to encourage the installation of renewable electricity capacity. Each unit of generation from renewables created a renewable obligation certificate (ROC). Electricity generators must either; earn ROCs...

Taking a political economy perspective this paper proposes an alternative carbon abatement policy instrument with significant cant advantages over existing policy instruments. The key feature of the proposed carbon securities is that they entitle their owners to a fi xed proportion of ex ante...