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Three essays in energy and environmental economics
Rečka, Lukáš ; Ščasný, Milan (advisor) ; Knápek, Jaroslav (referee) ; Van Koten, Silvester (referee) ; Muchapondwa, Edwin (referee)
Three Essays in Energy and Environmental Economics Author: Mgr. Lukáš Rečka Supervisor: Mgr. Milan Ščasný, Ph.D. Academic Year: 2018/2019 Abstract This thesis consists of three articles that share the main theme - energy and environment. The dissertation aims mainly at the Czech energy system and analyses it development after the Velvet Revolution and its possible future development. The first article applies Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index decomposition to analyses the main driving forces of significant reduction in air quality pollutants during the transition of the Czech economy towards market economy in the 1990s. It continues then to investigate how the driving forces affected the emissions volumes during succeeding the post-transition period up to 2016. The second article reacts on the 2015 governmental decision to lift brown coal mining limits in the North Bohemia coal basin. The paper analyses the impacts of maintaining the ban on mining coal reserves and compares them with three alternative options that would each weaken the environmental protections of the ban. The impacts of each of these alternative governmental propostions are analysed on the Czech energy system, the fuel- and the technology-mix, the costs of generating energy, related emissions and external costs associated with the emissions....
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Aplikace nástrojů hospodářské politiky v oblasti managementu přírodních zdrojů se zvláštním zaměřením na koncept ekosystémových služeb
Louda, Jiří ; Jílková, Jiřina (advisor) ; Geuss, Erik (referee) ; van Koten, Silvester (referee)
The dissertation deals with application of economic approaches and instruments in natural resource management. The paper puts a special emphasis on the developing concept of ecosystem services (mainly abroad) and its application in the Czech Republic's context. The objective of the thesis is to cultivate academic discussion of the importance of methods employed in environmental economics for application of economic policy tools in natural resource management in the Czech Republic's context and, among other things, to clarify whether (and if so, how) the concept of ecosystem services may contribute to the formulation of these tools. The paper also discusses possible limitations of using purely quantitative econometric methods in environmental policy. The dissertation is designed as a cumulative paper. The results of five scholarly articles presented document that application of economic approaches (such as valuation of environmental goods and services) may contribute to efficient meeting of environmental policy goals and that the ecosystem service concept brings new capabilities for application of economic theories in practical natural resource management. One of the new instruments grounded in this concept is the payments for ecosystem services, increasingly implemented abroad. However, the research results also point out the fact that isolated application of outcomes from quantitative environmental goods and services/ecosystems assessment methods has its limitations and may lead to design of measures and tools that will not have the desired effect. The recommendation is therefore to combine outcomes from quantitative methods with qualitative approaches (such as institutional analysis or stakeholder analysis).
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Three Essays on Post-Conflict Reintegration
Levely, Ian Vandemark ; Bauer, Michal (advisor) ; Filer, Randall (referee) ; Van Koten, Silvester (referee) ; Kovařík, Jaromír (referee)
Three Essays on Post-Conflict Reintegration Abstract This dissertation consists of three essays which explore the effects of conflict and the post- conflict reintegration process, each using a different methodology to study a different facet of these issues, including an analysis of survey data, an artefactual economic experiment conducted in the field, and an laboratory experiment. The research presented here demonstrates how these methods complement one another in contributing to our understanding of how conflict affects individuals' well-being and behavior. In the first essay, I analyze an existing data set from a survey of ex-combatants in Liberia to estimate the effect of a reintegration program for former soldiers on participants' income and employment status, using propensity score matching to account for self-selection bias. The second chapter also deals with the reintegration of ex-soldiers, but focuses on social capital, using a set of experiments, including trust and dictator games, to study the effects of forced military service for a rebel group on social capital in northern Uganda. In the third chapter, we study cooperation within and between groups in the laboratory, by modeling conflict with an inter- group Tullock rent-seeking contest, and manipulating groups' conflict history to measure...
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Essays on the Unbundling of Electricity Networks in the Eu an the USA: Theory and Empirics
Van Koten, Silvester ; Ortmann, Andreas (advisor) ; Leautier, Thomas-Olivier (referee) ; Kmenta, Jan (referee)
This Ph.D. dissertation focuses on a central question about regulation in the EU and US electricity markets: the effects of vertical integration of generation and transmission and distribution networks. I focus on the forms of vertical integration where the generation and network firms are partly separated, such as in a legal or organizational form. Such form of separation is called unbundling. In the first two papers, I develop theoretical models to analyze the economic effects of vertical integration under legal unbundling (firms are legally separated entities and have the same owner) relative to ownership unbundling (firms are legally separated entities and have different owners). Both papers have policy implications for the regulation of the EU and US electricity markets, and make new contributions to auction theory, especially toehold auctions. In the first paper I consider the legal unbundling of the network activities; in the second paper I consider the legal unbundling of both the network activities and the generation activity. In both papers I find theoretical evidence that, in terms of efficiency, legal unbundling gives results inferior to ownership unbundling. Furthermore, I find solutions for several cases of toehold auctions that have not been solved before and that I believe to be interesting....
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Integrace elektroenergetických trhů ve střední Evropě v právním rámci Energetické unie
Farkač, Pavel ; van Koten, Silvester (advisor) ; Pekárek, Štěpán (referee)
This paper examines the possibilities for further integration of day-ahead electricity market in Central Europe. The contemporary situation is locked due to the existence of the German-Austria bidding zone. However, compliance of this bidding zone with European legislative is questionable. Therefore, the author makes a thorough legal analysis to assess the compatibility of both analysed projects for market coupling with the recent legal development in the European Union. Further, the examined projects are technically deconstructed in order to evaluate their conformity or differences between each other as well as in relation towards the EU Target Model. It is assessed, that both projects are relatively well technically compatible, however, their merger is not possible until the definite and binding decision on the issue of German-Austrian bidding zone will be found.
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Estimation of the cost of photovoltaic subsidies - Italy, France and Belgium
Hromádka, Ondřej ; Zajíček, Miroslav (advisor) ; van Koten, Silvester (referee)
The purpose of the master theses is to estimate gross direct financial cost brought about by support schemes for electricity generation in photovoltaic power plants in France, Italy and Belgium. In order to understand support schemes, I deal with legislation of each particular country and with its development. Based on development of subsidies for photovoltaics and production of electricity of new instalations I determine the final amount of costs. Individual outputs are subsequently compared with data regarding the Czech Republic, Spain, Germany, UK, Greece and Slovakia.
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Estimating the impact of the 2012 liquor prohibition on crime
Krejsa, Jiří ; Dušek, Libor (advisor) ; van Koten, Silvester (referee)
This thesis focuses on capturing causal link between alcohol consumption and one of its externalities, crime. The quasi-natural experiment of the Czech temporary ban on hard liquor following an outbreak of methanol poisonings in September 2012 provides a valuable setting for evaluation of the alcohol-crime relationship. Over the course of the prohibition, violent crime rates fell by approximately 10 %, just like the aggregate of aggravated assault, criminal threatening, vandalism and property damage. In addition, the biggest share of reduction in crime falls on weekend criminality. The number of offenders under the influence of alcohol dropped by approximately 18 % for traffic-related offences and by 28 % in non-traffic offenses. The possibility of the reduction in crime being caused by lower detection capabilities of the law enforcement was examined. The reduction in reported cases of e.g. driving under the influence might be to a large extend explained by lower detection, but it could have reduced only rates of victimless crimes. Finally, the property crime rate was not significantly affected by the intervention, except for burglaries into bars and restaurants.
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"The Rebound Effect", Do improvements in energy efficiency lead to economy-wide reduction in energy consumption?
Stastny, Martin ; van Koten, Silvester (advisor) ; Chytilová, Helena (referee)
Improving energy efficiency is considered to be one of the means to successfully reduce energy consumption. At the same time improving energy efficiency implies that the real price for energy services will decrease and as a result will stimulate energy consumption whereas savings associated with higher energy efficiency will be partially diminished. This paradox is better known as the rebound effect. Additionally to a detailed definition of the direct rebound effect,this thesis establishes on the basis of existing researches that the price elasticity of demand for energy services plays a major role in terms of the extent of the rebound effect. Based on the triggers for the rebound effect, applicable policies are proposed and analyzed which can soften rebound effects - such as carbon tax, cap and trade system and standards and regulations. In this context most policies aim to increase the real price of energy services. This thesis concludes both that the existing energy efficiency policies are not adequately pursued and that energy efficiency technology should be fostered since it will also weaken rebound effects.
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Závislost oficiálních fotografii politických představitelů na formě vlád západního světa v letech 1821-2013
Vejvodová, Veronika ; Zajíček, Miroslav (advisor) ; van Koten, Silvester (referee)
I study the role that facial expressions play in determining political ideology. I have collected 20,475 assessments of politicians representing 14 countries. Based on a dataset captured from 1821-2015, our results imply that the facial expressions of politicians do play a significant role in the explanation of their ideology. Controlling for positivism of expressions model confirms this general picture: Democratic regime politicians have a tendency to express positive emotions since they are in principle selling the future. Autocratic regimes are mostly trying to exert fear and the facial expressions of dictators are non-positive. We also find that evaluation of the regime is negatively correlated with TV broadcasting in some countries. Accordingly, we can claim that voting perception and behavior is guided by the pictures and videos which are delivered via television.
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What Affects The Decreasing Consumption of Beer? Analysis of The Determinants of Demand
Podešva, Jiří ; Koubek, Ivo (advisor) ; van Koten, Silvester (referee)
The per capita consumption of beer in the Czech Republic is one of the biggest in the world. However, in recent years the consumption has started to decrease. This thesis analyzes determinants of demand of beer and possible causes of decreasing of beer consumption. The whole market is analyzed using the time series models. In the next step, the market was separated into on-trade and off-trade part. No previous researches have dealt with this division. It was proved, that wine is a substitute of the on-trade beer, but a complement of the off-trade beer. On-trade beer is an ordinary good and if the price increases by one Czech crown, the consumption will decrease by 5 %. Spirits are complements of on-trade beer. No impact caused by price on the consumption of off-trade beer was proved. During the analysis of off-trade beer was found out, that the beer is the gross substitute of wine and that the good weather makes its consumption to increase. The future prediction for 2014 suggests that average person will consume 57,5 liters of on-trade beer.
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