Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Luigi De Paoli Title: I cambiamenti climatici: a che punto siamo? Abstract: Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:5-10 Volume: LII Year: 2009 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Riviste.asp?IDArticolo=37229&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/EFE2009-001001 Number: 1 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Luigi Ciattaglia Title: Le controversie del cambiamento climatico Abstract: Climate Change Controversies - The paper informs about some controversies dealing with the climatic change recently appeared on the international press. Particularly are examined the argumentations exposed on the New York Times by the physicist Freeman Dyson about the remedies proposed on the occasion of a lecture he held at Yale in 2008. Some details are given too on the results of a research, which same Dyson makes reference, conducted by the economist William Nordhaus in order to quantify aggregated expenditures and costs and gain of the measures to be taken in order to contrast climatic change according to a purely economic methodology. Finally the statements the Royal Society of the United Kingdom released about the scientific basis of the arguments advanced by the people sceptic on the matter of climatic change are reported.

Keywords: global warming, greenhouse gases, biotechnologies and CO2 removal, economic evaluation of possible remedies

JEL classifications: Q5

Parole chiave: riscaldamento globale, gas serra, biotecnologie e rimozione della CO2, valutazione economica dei possibili rimedi Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:11-23 Volume: LII Year: 2009 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Riviste.asp?IDArticolo=37230&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/EFE2009-001002 Number: 2 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Gerardo Marletto Title: Heterodox Environmental Economix: Theoretical Strands in Search of a Paradigm Abstract: Heterodox Environmental Economics: Theoretical Strands in Search of a Paradigm - Heterodox environmental economics is mainly based on non-mainstream economic theories; in particular it refers to two classic strands of economics (and to their recent revival and cross-fertilization): institutional economics and Schumpeterian economics. Starting from these theoretical foundations, heterodox environmental economics radically differs from the mainstream (market-centred and static) approach to positive and normative environmental economics. Three basic concepts are at the hearth of such a different vision: resource regimes, as institutional structures established to regulate access to natural resources and their use; environmental appraisals, as "value articulating" institutions conditioned by the incommensurability of conflicting values; "sociotechnical" transitions, as dynamic processes that are needed to unlock existing unsustainable technologies, institutions and values. These considerations are not sufficient to say that heterodox environmental economics has already become a paradigm; a stable community of researchers defining themselves as ?heterodox environmental economists? still does not exist. Time will tell if some emerging connections between different research groups will generate the social core of a nascent paradigm.

Keywords: environmental economics; heterodox economics; institutional economics; evolutionary theories of economic change

JEL classification: B52; Q50 Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:25-33 Volume: LII Year: 2009 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Riviste.asp?IDArticolo=37231&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/EFE2009-001003 Number: 3 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Xavier Basurto Author-Name: Elinor Ostrom Title: Beyond the tragedy of the Commons Abstract: Beyond the Tragedy of the Commons - To move beyond Hardin?s tragedy of the commons, it is fundamental to avoid falling into either of two analytical and policy traps: deriving and recommending "panaceas" or asserting "my case is unique". We can move beyond both traps by self-consciously building diagnostic theory to help unpack and understand the complex interrelationship between social and biophysical factors at different levels of analysis. We need to look for commonalities and differences across studies. This understanding will be augmented if the rich detail produced from case studies is used together with theory to find patterned structures among cases. In this paper, we briefly illustrate important steps of how we can go about diagnosing the emergence and sustainability of self-organization in the fishing context of the Gulf of California, Mexico. By doing so, we are able to move away from the universality proposed by Hardin and understand how two out of three fisheries were able to successfully self-organize, and why one of them continues to be robust over time.

Keywords: sustainable development; renewable resources fisheries; renewable resources commons

JEL classifications: QO1; Q20; D70

Parole chiave: sviluppo sostenibile; risorse rinnovabili; zone di pesca; propriet? comuni Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:35-60 Volume: LII Year: 2009 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Riviste.asp?IDArticolo=37232&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/EFE2009-001004 Number: 4 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Arild Vatn Title: Governing the Environment: the Intitutional Economics Approach Abstract: Governing the Environment: The Institutional Economics Approach - Analyzing environmental governance implies foremost to analyze institutional structures and their implications. In doing so, the present paper utilizes insights primarily from the tradition of classical institutional economics. The paper is divided in three. In the first part I describe the main features of the classical position and compare it briefly with that of neoclassical economics and the tradition of new institutional economics. In the second part I clarify what is considered the main aspects of governance as seen from an institutional perspective. In part three I move to the more specific area of environmental governance. The concept of resource regimes is defined. Moreover I analyze how different regimes influence which environmental problems appear and how they can be treated. I discuss how institutions influence the formation and articulation of knowledge and values, how they form and protect interests, how they influence the level of transaction costs and hence the possibilities for coordination, and finally how they form the motivations underlying human choices in concrete contexts. Given that all these variables are shown to be endogenous to the institutional system, the use of comparative analysis in the assessment of various governance options is emphasized.

Keywords: classical institutional economics, interdependence, resource regimes, value articulation, interest protection, transaction costs, plural rationalities.

JEL classifications: B52; Q50; D02; D70. Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:61-86 Volume: LII Year: 2009 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Riviste.asp?IDArticolo=37233&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/EFE2009-001005 Number: 5 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jouni Paavola Title: From market failure paradigm to an institutional theory of environmental governance Abstract: From Market Failure Paradigm to an Institutional Theory of Environmental Governance - This manuscript examines how an institutional theory of environmental governance might be based on a re-interpretation and re-working of the arguments of the market failure paradigm and its main criticisms. The manuscript first examines in detail the arguments of the market failure paradigm regarding externalities and public goods, as well as their criticisms. The paper then suggests an institutional re-interpretation and revision of the key arguments of the market failure paradigm. The institutional theory of environmental governance acknowledges the interdependence of economic actors and the resulting fundamental role of conflicts as the rationale for environmental governance and its institutions. As environmental conflicts are primarily a matter of distribution rather than of efficiency, it becomes important to understand the likely consequences of institutional alternatives in the specific socio-economic and physical setting of the environmental conflicts, and the degree to which these consequences match with the pertinent social or economic goals.

Keywords: environmental governance, market failure, externalities, public goods, welfare economics, institutional economics

JEL classifications: Q50; H41; D62; B52 Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:87-101 Volume: LII Year: 2009 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Riviste.asp?IDArticolo=37234&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/EFE2009-001006 Number: 6 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ren? Kemp Title: Eco-Innovation and Transitions Abstract: Eco-Innovation and Transitions - This paper is aimed at examining the scholarship on system innovation and societal transformation for sustainable development, which today is known as "transition management". In theoretical terms, the approach of transition management relies on markets, guidance in the form of goals and visions of sustainable development, network management with an element of self-organisation. Transition management could be viewed as "evolutionary governance" as it is concerned with the functioning of the variation-selection-retention process: creating variety informed by visions of the sustainability, shaping new paths and reflexively adapting existing institutional frameworks and regimes. It is a model for escaping lock-in and moving towards solutions offering multiple benefits, not just for users but also for society as a whole. It is not a megalomaniac attempt to control the future but an attempt to insert normative goals into evolutionary processes in a reflexive manner. The multilevel perspective of change and the model of goal-oriented modulation and reflexive governance, on which transition management is based, are described. Experiences with transition management in the Netherlands are described too, as well as the international debate on transition management as a model of governance for sustainable development.

Keywords: eco-innovation, transition, reflexive governance, multi-level change, the Netherlands

JEL classification: B52; Q50

Parole chiave: governance ambientale; fallimenti del mercato; esternalit?; beni pubblici; economia del benessere; economia istituzionale. Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:103-124 Volume: LII Year: 2009 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Riviste.asp?IDArticolo=37235&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/EFE2009-001007 Number: 7 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Damien Bazin Title: Corporate Strategy in Relation to Environmental protection issues Abstract: Corporate Strategy in Relation to Environmental Protection Issues - Firms have a reputation for caring only about profits and for showing scant regard when it comes to the consequences of their actions or their behaviour in relation to environmental protection. We wish to put forward a renewed vision of firms in terms of their corporate social responsibility, one in which the above dichotomy becomes less marked. We will explain in detail the fact that in order to take environmental issues seriously, it is necessary to consider them with regard to corporate change at an institutional level. For this reason we will carry out a critical analysis of the use of an envi- ronmental tax and we will broaden the discussion to include the need for a greater responsibility among economic agents.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, environment, responsible behaviour, taxation.

JEL classification: Q010, Q560, Q580

Parole chiave: responsabilit? sociale di impresa, ambiente, comportamento responsabile, tassazione Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:125-136 Volume: LII Year: 2009 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Riviste.asp?IDArticolo=37236&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/EFE2009-001008 Number: 8 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Susanna Dorigoni Author-Name: Luigi Mazzei Author-Name: Federico Pontoni Author-Name: Antonio Sileo Title: GNL, competizione e sicurezza di approvvigionamento: il segmento dello shipping Abstract: LNG, Competition and Security of Supply: the Role of Shipping - In the last few years, one of the main concerns of European Union in the energetic field has been that of facilitating the safeguard of raw materials? security of supply, especially that of natural gas. Import through LNG chain, that is, through the employment of LNG tankers for gas transportation, has been identified by the European Council as one of the instruments to achieve these goals. In fact, import via LNG does not require, for the importer, such investments as to determine an indissoluble physical tie between producer and buyer, as happens for transport via pipeline (Chernyavs?ka et al., 2002). In other words, investments in pipelines are very specific. Moreover, as they are made in order to support specific transactions, contracts usually take the form of long-term agreements with minimum offtake requirements (take or pay clauses): such contracts definitely contribute to the "cartelization" of the market, hindering competition. Unlike investments in pipelines, those in the LNG chain present a much lower degree of specificity: in fact, even though the construction of a regasification plant is generally tied to the stipulation of a long-term agreement (with take or pay clause), LNG chain costs have significantly decreased over time (until a few years ago) and, moreover, it is getting increasingly common that part of plant capacity is made available for spot transactions. What?s more, once the contract is expired and the investment is sunk, the importer may satisfy his gas supply needs on the basis of his relative gains. As far as LNG import contractual practices are concerned, significant changes have started to take places in the last few years, both in terms of agreements? length - average duration has significantly decreased - and in terms of price indexation - in the most developed markets LNG price is tied to gas spot price (IEA, 2006). One of the many possible advantages of transport via LNG is that liquefied gas enables European importers to widen their gas suppliers portfolio. Increased possibilities of choice for importers, the widening of the group of exporting countries, and the increased integration of the European market, thanks to the possibility of redirecting cargoes depending on single countries? supply-demand balance, would contribute decisively to security of supply, market globalization and competition (between importers) in the industry (IEA, 2004). Yet, it must be stressed that import via tanker appears to be competitive with import via pipe only for the medium-long distances. As far as LNG chain is concerned, the element that so far has attracted the least attention, though being not less important than the other two, is certainly shipping. Being the link between the producing/exporting country and the importing country, and having been subject to major changes in the last few years, it is particularly interesting to analyze it singularly, aiming to understand how it is linked to the other elements of LNG value chain, besides studying industry dynamics. This paper will address this issue, aiming also to understand what has been and what will be in the future the evolutionary trajectory of this segment, starting from an analysis of operative and planned gas tankers, their size, their routes and their contractual situation. This analysis can be useful to make hypothesis about the growth of the spot market and, consequently, of market liquidity.

Keywords: LNG, gas tankers, security of supply, competition, regasification plants, spot market, natural gas international trade

JEL classifications: L95, K12, F14, L11

Parole chiave: GNL, navi gasiere, sicurezza dell?approvvigionamento, competizione, rigassificatori, mercato spot, commercio internazionale di gas naturale Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:137-159 Volume: LII Year: 2009 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Riviste.asp?IDArticolo=37237&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/EFE2009-001009 Number: 9 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Filippo Vergara Caffarelli Title: Un'analisi sulla gestione dei rifiuti urbani nei comuni capoluogo di provincia Abstract: Waste Management in Italy: an Analysis of City-Level Data - Effectiveness, efficiency and affordability have been among the key criteria for municipal solid waste management in the Italian legal framework since the so-called "Ronchi Decree" of 1997. The paper analyses the economic performance of waste-collection firms in Italy. We construct a dataset that includes almost all the companies performing waste collection in the provincial capitals of Italy. We investigate their capital structure, profitability, value added, productivity, investment and business development by means of a set of financial ratios. The research is developed through the assessment of the effects on firms? performance of specialisation, localisation, temporal evolution, size and legal form of firms and the remuneration system for waste collection. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, given the almost universal nature of the sample under investigation, we describe the economic and financial structure of waste collection firms in Italy; second, we empirically evaluate the extent to which the sector has taken on the industrial characteristics set forward in the legal framework. Hence the analysis is conducted both at sector level and at firm level. At the aggregate level, it is possible to identify a trend for the sector as a whole towards convergence with the rest of the economy. However, waste management still displays clear signs of backwardness, especially due to weaker financial structure, higher incidence of labour costs on value added and lower investment. Firm-level data are analysed with both univariate and multivariate statistical techniques. The results confirm the general backwardness of the sector, with businesses located in Southern part of Italy lagging even further behind. Moreover, firms simultaneously providing multiple utility services are more profitable than those specialized in the waste sector only. However this appears attributable to cross-subsidisation between services, not economies of scope. Both scale of operations and legal form have a positive impact on firms? profitability, thanks in part to a negative correlation with degree of specialisation. Moreover, the economic performance of waste management firms is significantly pro-cyclical. Finally, the new cost-based remuneration system for collection services produces ambiguous results. It has a positive effect on operational efficiency and productivity but does not increase the return on capital. A simple econometric model is estimated to evaluate the simultaneous impact on firms? performance of specialisation, localisation, temporal evolution, size, legal form and remuneration system, confirming the outcome of the univariate analysis. In the light of our results, the successful "industrialization" of the waste management sector appears still far away.

Keywords: local public services, waste management, regulation

JEL classifications: L32, L51, Q53

Parole chiave: servizi pubblici locali, gestione dei rifiuti urbani, regolamentazione Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:161-180 Volume: LII Year: 2009 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Riviste.asp?IDArticolo=37238&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/EFE2009-001010 Number: 10 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: n.d. Title: G8 Declaration: "Responsible leadership for a sustainable future", l'Aquila, Italy, 8 July 2009 Abstract: Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:181-185 Volume: LII Year: 2009 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Riviste.asp?IDArticolo=37239&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/EFE2009-001011 Number: 11 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: n.d. Title: Summaries and abstracts Abstract: Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:187-195 Volume: LII Year: 2009 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Riviste.asp?IDArticolo=37240&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/EFE2009-001012 Number: 12