Anne Lacroix

The public policies for reducing nonpoint water pollution between equity and efficiency

This paper investigates if and how equity and efficiency could be reconciled when improving nitrogen-polluted groundwater of agricultural origin. This is achieved through comparing two pollution control programmes with respect to their costs, water quality impacts and correlation between abatement cost and polluting emissions. The fieldwork was done in a watershed, near the French Alps. It was carried out by economists in close relation with agronomists and hydrologists. The difficulty of the assessment of the environmental impact of the foreseen technological scenarios is overcome by developing an indicator of environmental effectiveness able to grasp the level of nitrate pollution of agricultural origin and to check whether the pollution control programmes are able to reach the given environmental target or not. The results show that it is only in the framework of a more flexible regulatory system that total abatement costs are reduced, and equity and efficiency reconciled,. This is due to the specific situation in agriculture the combination of various productions in every farm. This characteristic explains why the heterogeneity of the abatement costs is more significant within the firm (between production systems) rather than between firms.

Nitrate pollution risk assessment : from the model to the indicator

The diffuse nature of nitrate pollution makes it difficult to evaluate existing or planned measures to reduce it. Tools have therefore been developed to assess this pollution, ranging from simple indicators to complex models. The aim of this paper is to compare indicators and models by analysing results obtained from their individual application to the same area. The pros and cons of each approach are evaluated in terms of both the conditions of their implementation and the results obtained. This comparison helps to guide the choice of a methodology. Rules governing that choice are set in relation to the nature of the diagnosis to perform and the characteristics of the area under study.

Food Price Policies May Improve Diet but Increase Socioeconomic Inequalities in Nutrition

Unhealthy eating is more prevalent among women and people with a low socioeconomic status. Policies that affect the price of food have been proposed to improve diet quality. The studys objective was to compare the impact of food price policies on the nutritional quality of food baskets chosen by low-income and medium-income women. Experimental economics was used to simulate a fruit and vegetable subsidy and a mixed policy subsidizing healthy products and taxing unhealthy ones. Food classification was based on the Score of Nutritional Adequacy of Individual Foods, Score of Nutrients to Be Limited nutrient profiling system. Low-income (n = 95) and medium-income (n = 33) women selected a daily food basket first at current prices and then at policy prices. Energy density (ED) and the mean adequacy ratio (MAR) were used as nutritional quality indicators. At baseline, low-income women selected less healthy baskets than medium-income women (less fruit and vegetables, more unhealthy products, higher ED, lower MAR). Both policies improved nutritional quality (fruit and vegetable quantities increased, ED decreased, the MAR increased), but the magnitude of the improvement was often lower among low-income women. For instance, ED decreased by 5.3% with the fruit and vegetable subsidy and by 7.3% with the mixed subsidy, whereas decreases of 13.2 and 12.6%, respectively, were recorded for the medium-income group. Finally, both policies improved dietary quality, but they increased socioeconomic inequalities in nutrition.

Interest of site-specific pollution control policies: the case of nitrate pollution from agriculture

Theoritically, spatially targeted environmental policies are considered optimal, since economic agents tune their efforts according to their environment. But this advantage can be undermined by the high cost of information. We posit that it is possible to reduce the spatial scale and simultaneously to limit costs and retain environmental effectiveness. In this paper we consider the example of the nitrate pollution of water on two sites in France. Using a bio-physical model coupled with an economic model, we conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of various solutions to mitigate water pollution and we suggest a guideline for investigating the trade-off between the scale of abatement effort and the abatement effectiveness.

Fertiliser taxation and regulation of nonpoint water pollution: a critical analysis based on European experiences

In Europe, the effectiveness of current forms of control of nonpoint nitrogen pollution is considered to be weak. This assessment highlights the need to introduce more efficient modes of regulation. Many economists recommend a simple tax based on known polluting factors, for example a tax on purchases of mineral fertilisers. In addition to its simplicity of application and low information cost, one can argue that this tax has already been implemented in several European countries and could prefigure a more general decision at European Union level. However, the same economists disagree as to the valuation of the decreasing use of fertilisers that could be expected, since the issue of the price-elasticity of demand is highly controversial. The aim of this paper is to present a critical assessment of research undertaken up to now and of actual experiences in taxation. We also highlight the role of determining factors in long-term trends in the consumption of nitrogen fertilisers in European countries.