Research Fellows

Electrification or deforestation? Evidence from household practices in Côte d’Ivoire

Alpha LyFinancial regulation and innovative financingPublicationsPublicationsResearch areaResearch FellowsComments Off on Electrification or deforestation? Evidence from household practices in Côte d’Ivoire

This paper investigates the impact of electrification on household practices related to deforestation in Côte d’Ivoire, specifically focusing on the expansion of arable farms and the use of biomass fuels.  

Looking at the relationship between electrification and the expansion of arable farms inspired by Angelsen and studying  data from the latest four waves of the household Living Standards Measurement Surveys (1998, 2002, 2008, and 2015), we find that increased access to electricity significantly reduces both the average size of arable farms and the collection of firewood from forests. 

Un nouveau contrat écologique

Alors que notre époque est marquée par l’urgence climatique, la transition écologique peine à s’enclencher. L’ouvrage plaide pour concerter la transition écologique et engager l'ensemble de la société dans la construction d’un avenir commun. Semblable à un processus constituant, ce changement d’approche vise à construire un nouveau contrat écologique, un compromis de société qui décloisonne les questions sociales, économiques et écologiques.

Functionalism in ecology and economics: Epistemological affinities and temptations

Hadrien LantremangeMacro-economical and societal challengesPublicationsPublicationsResearch areaResearch FellowsComments Off on Functionalism in ecology and economics: Epistemological affinities and temptations

This article reviews the epistemological debates about functionalism in ecology. While identifying current area of scientific validity, t emphasizes, in particular, that functionalism depends on the system examined and remains inapplicable wherever singularity prevails. 

Economic rationality, ecological rationality and the orientation issue

The economic agent was previously assumed to be distinct from its environment and that nothing was forcing him to act on it. With the ecological crisis, every agent appears to be inserted into an environment, which he modifies in an irreversible way without even having decided to do so. This changes in depth the way in which economics can represent the agent and the optimal action: it is rationality itself that is modified in what we call "ecological rationality".

Climate change and biodiversity loss: new territories for financial authorities

Financial regulation and innovative financingHugues ChenetPublicationsPublicationsResearch FellowsComments Off on Climate change and biodiversity loss: new territories for financial authorities

We analyse the current and possible ways forward in this consideration of climate and biodiversity by finance, highlighting the extent to which they may either contribute to and/or suffer from those environmental changes.

Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from the cattle sector: land-use regulation as an alternative to emissions pricing

Guy MeunierMaxence GérardPublicationsPublicationsResearch areaResearch FellowsSectoral PoliciesComments Off on Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from the cattle sector: land-use regulation as an alternative to emissions pricing

We examine the efficiency of a subsidy to cattle farmers for setting aside land for natural ecosystem regeneration. We develop a partial equilibrium model of the cattle sector that integrates land use, greenhouse gas emissions, and animal feeding. We identify conditions under which the subsidy is the best alternative to these other second-best policies.

Leaving the hearth you know: Internal migration and energy poverty

We document the relationship between rural–urban migration and energy poverty in South Africa. Our findings show that migrants to urban areas experience significant reductions in energy poverty, particularly in the use of traditional cooking fuels. Our study also explores energy poverty outcomes for both sending and receiving households, gender differences among migrants, and other amenities.

Challenges in measuring the distribution of carbon footprints: The role of product and price heterogeneity

Antonin PottierEmmanuel CombetMacro-economical and societal challengesPublicationsPublicationsResearch areaResearch FellowsComments Off on Challenges in measuring the distribution of carbon footprints: The role of product and price heterogeneity

The distribution of the footprint within a country is regularly computed using consumption data, and with the assumption that the footprint from a product category is proportional to the spending on that product. Here, we explore the limitations of this proportionality assumption.

Electrification, Environment, and Economic Development in Developing Countries

Access to EnergyAlpha LyDoctoral & master thesisPublicationsResearch areaResearch FellowsComments Off on Electrification, Environment, and Economic Development in Developing Countries

This thesis highlights the complex relationships between electrification, deforestation, and economic development in developing countries.

Pricing Congestion to Increase Traffic: The Case of Bogotá

Juan-Pablo MonteroPublicationsResearch areaResearch FellowsSectoral PoliciesWorking papersComments Off on Pricing Congestion to Increase Traffic: The Case of Bogotá

In September 2020, the city of Bogotá introduced a major market-based reform to its odd-even driving restriction. The big winners of the reform are middle-income individuals who now use their cars more often, whereas the big losers are high-income individuals who now spend more time in traffic.