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EEEM Seminar Series
Seminar Series Nº6:
The Electric Gini: Income Redistribution through Energy Prices
Professor Arik LEVINSON
Professor
Department of Economics, Georgetown University, USA
| Date: | 6 March 2019 (Wednesday) |
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| Time: | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon |
| Venue: | G5-215, 5/F Yeung Kin Man Academic Building City University of Hong Kong Kowloon Tong, Kowloon Hong Kong |
| Organizer: | School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong |
Abstract
Most electric utilities in the United States charge two-part tariffs to residential customers: fixed monthly fees insufficient to cover the fixed costs of power plants and transmission lines, and per-kWh volumetric prices in excess of the marginal cost of providing electricity. And more and more utilities charge increasing block prices, higher prices to ratepayers that use more electricity. One obvious reason is equity. We first show that in theory, price setters concerned about inequality will charge lower-than-efficient fixed monthly fees and higher-than-efficient per-kWh prices, and will target higher users with even higher prices. Then we use a new dataset of more than 1300 utilities across the US to show that these theoretical predictions are borne out in practice. Utilities whose ratepayers have more unequal incomes have more redistributive electricity pricing schemes, charging less to low users and more to high users. Utilities with more ratepayers who vote Democratic, with higher costs, and with higher fractions of commercial or industrial customers have more redistributive residential pricing. To quantify these comparisons, we develop a new measure of the redistributive extent of utility pricing that we call the “electric Gini.”
About the Speaker
Arik Levinson is a Professor in the Economics Department of Georgetown University and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has served as a Senior Economist on President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, as a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board, and as a co-editor of the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management and the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. Arik’s current research projects include a calculation of how the environmental consequences of American consumers’ choices have differed across income groups over time; a comparison of energy taxes and efficiency standards; and an analysis of the redistributive consequences of electricity pricing.
Enquiry: see.enquiry@cityu.edu.hk (email), 3442 2414 (Tel.)
~All are Welcome~
Seminar Series Nº5:
Transportation Policies & Equilibrium Sorting: Evidence from Beijing
Professor Shanjun LI
Professor
Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, USA
| Date: | 4 March 2019 (Monday) |
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| Time: | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon |
| Venue: | G5-215, 5/F Yeung Kin Man Academic Building City University of Hong Kong Kowloon Tong, Kowloon Hong Kong |
| Organizer: | School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong |
Abstract
Air pollution and traffic congestion are two of the most pressing urban challenges in many fast-growing economies. Various transportation policies from both the demand and supply sides including congestion pricing, driving restrictions, the gasoline tax, and the expansion of public transit have been adopted to address these issues. We develop and estimate a residential location sorting model to examine the interactions of transportation policies and household sorting. The sorting model incorporate commuting decisions and generates equilibrium predictions of household locations under different transportation policies. We estimate the model parameters using a large household travel survey and rich housing transaction data in Beijing. The analysis illustrates the importance of incorporating travel mode choices in household location decisions and the importance of understanding sorting behavior in designing effective transportation policies.
About the Speaker
Prof. Shanjun Li is the Kenneth L. Robinson Professor of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. He serves as co-Director of the Cornell Institute for China Economic Research (CICER). He is a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a university fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF). His research areas include environmental and energy economics, empirical industrial organization and Chinese economy.
Enquiry: see.enquiry@cityu.edu.hk (email), 3442 2414 (Tel.)
~All are Welcome~
Seminar Series Nº4:
Efficiency and Equity Requirements of International Climate Policy
Professor Lucas Bretschger
Full Professor of Economics/Resource Economics at ETH Zurich
Past-President of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists
| Date: | 7 March 2018 (Wednesday) |
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| Time: | 4:30pm - 6:00pm |
| Venue: | Connie Fan Multi-media Conference Room, 4/F Cheng Yick-chi Building City University of Hong Kong Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Hong Kong |
| Organizer: | School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong |
Abstract
In this lecture, Professor Lucas Bretschger will present an overview of recent developments in climate economics and draw some key policy conclusions. The first part will focus on efficiency and deal with economic dynamics, impact assessment, and risk analysis. Professor Bretschger will show how the internationally agreed temperature targets become compatible with economic cost-benefit analysis. The second part will deal with equity considerations of national policy contributions and their assessment with a common metrics. Different evaluation criteria and the implications for the climate policies in different countries like China, the US, and India are presented. The lecture concludes with recommendations for the further guidance of international climate negotiations.
About the Speaker
Professor Lucas Bretschger is Full Professor of Economics/Resource Economics at ETH Zurich and Past-President of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (EAERE). His main research interests are the theory and policy of natural resources and the environment as well as growth, trade, climate, and public economics. He is a Member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences, a Research Associate at the University of Oxford and a Professor at the University of Zurich. He has been a consultant to the Swiss government on climate issues, a member of the Swiss delegation at international climate negotiations, and the founder of the SURED Conference on Monte Verità, which bi-annually brings together world leading experts of sustainable resource use and economic dynamics.
Enquiry: vprtdl@cityu.edu.hk (email), 3442 9049 (Tel.)
~All are Welcome~
Seminar Series Nº3:
Levelized Cost of Consumed Electricity
Professor Aude POMMERET
Professor
University of Savoie, France
| Date: | 6 March 2018 (Tuesday) |
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| Time: | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon |
| Venue: | Y5-104, 5/F Yeung Kin Man Academic Building City University of Hong Kong Kowloon Tong, Kowloon Hong Kong |
| Organizer: | School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong |
Abstract
Current calculations to evaluate the profitability of the various energy generating units ignore intermittency as well as complementary technologies, such as battery storage and smart meters. Therefore, we propose a new assessment of the cost of solar energy that takes into account smart grids. In doing this, we use data from a low energy dwelling in South Wales UK as well as data from a high-rise apartment in Hong Kong, calibrate our model in this regard, and calculate a levelized cost of electricity consumption (LCOCE). Our proposed cost measure can be of use when determining the feasibility of smart systems, and accordingly, assist policymakers when deciding on the financial support for home renewable energy systems.
About the Speaker
Prof. Aude Pommeret is Professor at the University of Savoie, France. She has been Assistant Professor at HEC Lausanne and City University of Hong Kong. She has published in top economic journals (including Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, American Journal of Agricultural Economics or Review of Economic Dynamics) and is a referee for many journals (among which the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, The Energy Journal, Resource and Energy Economics, Environmental and Resource Economics). She is an elected member of the French National Council of Universities and at the board of the French Association of Environmental and Resources Economists from its creation in 2013.
Enquiry: see.enquiry@cityu.edu.hk (email), 3442 2414 (Tel.)
~All are Welcome~
Seminar Series Nº2:
Inequality and (un)sustainable development:Reconciling social and environmental policy
Dr. Lucas CHANCEL
Co-director
World Inequality Lab
Paris School of Economics, France
Senior Research Fellow
Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI)
Sciences Po, France
| Date: | 1 February 2018 (Thursday) |
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| Time: | 4:00pm - 5:00pm |
| Venue: | B5-307, 5/F Yeung Kin Man Academic Building (AC1) City University of Hong Kong Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Hong Kong |
| Organizer: | School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong |
Abstract
The relationship between reducing inequalities and protecting the environment is an ambivalent one. As a rule, these two goals reinforce each other but they can also find themselves at odds. To avoid having to sacrifice one goal to achieve the other, we need a deeper understanding of why the reduction of inequalities lies at the heart of the sustainable development project, and what changes need to be made to current social and environmental policies. The talk (in English) will draw from the book "Insoutenables inégalités" published in French late 2017 and which will be translated into English by Harvard University Press later this year.
About the Speaker
Dr Lucas Chancel is Co-Director of the World Inequality Lab and of WID.world at the Paris School of Economics (PSE). He was general coordinator of the World Inequality Report 2018. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) and Lecturer at SciencesPo.
Enquiry: see.enquiry@cityu.edu.hk (email), 3442 2414 (Tel.)
~All are Welcome~
Seminar Series Nº1:
Integrated Assessment of Climate Mitigation Policy: Method, Application and Outlook
Dr. Hancheng DAI
Assistant Professor
College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Peking University, China
| Date: | 31 January 2018 (Wednesday) |
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| Time: | 03:00 p.m. – 04:00 p.m. |
| Venue: | Y5-302, 5/F Yeung Kin Man Academic Building City University of Hong Kong Kowloon Tong, Kowloon Hong Kong |
| Organizer: | School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong |
Abstract
Global climate change caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is one of the major challenges facing mankind this century. The cause and solution of climate change and environmental problems are not only related to pollution discharge but also related to energy, industrial structure, consumption patterns and macro-micro decisions. Hence, development and application of integrated assessment models representing all these aspects is not only an academic cutting-edge issue but also meaningful for decision support.
This presentation introduces the IMED model, or Integrated Model of Energy, Environment and Economy for Sustainable Development at Peking University, which has been applied systematically and quantitatively to analyze economic, energy, environmental and climate policies at the provincial, national and global scales to provide relevant scientific support for decision making.
About the Speaker
Hancheng Dai, Assistant Professor at College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, China. Dr. Dai’s research interests are on climate change economics, energy and environmental economics and policy assessment. He has been developing the state-of-the-art integrated assessment models to find out how the society could transit into a low-carbon and sustainable future at the local, national and global scales. Using these models, he explored key questions such as the mitigation cost of achieving the Copenhagen targets, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and 2 ° C degree targets in China, the co-benefits of climate mitigation on air pollution, human health, water saving and resource efficiency, as well as the effects of emission trading policy in China. His main publications, including 6 ESI highly cited papers (Link), are on energy economics and policy related journal.
Enquiry: see.enquiry@cityu.edu.hk (email), 3442 2414 (Tel.)