Henry Wüstemann

Promoting multifunctionality of agriculture: an economic analysis of new approaches in Germany.

In the early and mid-1990s, a number of policies to support the multifunctionality of agriculture, e.g., agri-environmental schemes (AESs), started to be implemented in Europe. Based on experiences with their implementation, new approaches have since been developed to advance these policies, and other new opportunities have arisen to further strengthen the multifunctionality of agriculture. Here we present three innovative approaches for supporting agricultural multifunctionality in Germany: participatory and local approaches for developing AESs, voluntary co-operative agreements (CAs) between farmers and water suppliers, and the combination of the impact mitigation principle with environmentally friendly farming. We evaluate these new policies in terms of their ability to improve the cost-effective provision of environmental benefits. We do this by applying a framework that encompasses an analysis of the cost-effective allocation of resources for producing environmental benefits and of the implementation and decision-making costs. Our analysis suggests that for locally developed AESs and CAs, there is a trade-off between more cost-effective resource allocation and better monitoring, on the one hand, and higher decision-making costs, on the other. When combining the impact mitigation principle with farming, we expect to find savings in terms of production, decision-making and implementation costs.

The Greener, the Happier? The Effects of Urban Green and Abandoned Areas on Residential Well-Being

This paper investigates the effects of urban green and abandoned areas on residential well-being in major German cities, using panel data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for the time period between 2000 and 2012 and cross-section data from the European Urban Atlas (EUA) for the year 2006. Using a Geographical Information System (GIS), it calculates the distance to urban green and abandoned areas, measured as the Euclidean distance in 100 metres between households and the border of the nearest urban green and abandoned area, respectively, and the coverage of urban green and abandoned areas, measured as the hectares covered by urban green and abandoned areas in a pre-defined buffer area of 1,000 metres around households, respectively, as the most important determinants of access to them. It shows that, for the 32 major German cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, access to urban green areas, such as parks, is significantly positively associated, whereas access to abandoned areas, such as brown fields, is significantly negatively associated with residential well-being, in particular with life satisfaction, as well as mental and physical health. The effects are strongest for residents who are older, accounting for up to a third of the size of the effect of being unemployed on life satisfaction. Using data from the Berlin Aging Study II (BASE-II) for the time period between 2009 and 2012, this paper also shows that (older) residents who report living closer to greens have been diagnosed significantly less often with certain medical conditions, including diabetes, sleep disorder, and joint disease.

Efficiency and utility: an evolutionary perspective

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop the argument that the link between efficiency and utility was strongest in the twentieth century. This would not only explain the growing focus on efficiency in the past, but also suggest that the importance of efficiency in society is set to decrease from now on. Design/methodology/approach - The two arguments in support of the claim were: first, the growing importance of the service sector where an exaggerated focus on efficiency may decrease utility and second, the utility that is generated by different working environments and identities where heterogeneity is increasing. Findings - Good reasons are found why the strong correlation between utility and efficiency that could be found in the process of industrialization is loosening. Research limitations/implications - The findings imply that the role of economic science is probably rather decreasing. Social implications - Social indicators for utility will probably gain importance. Originality/value - This paper puts the importance of efficiency into a historical context.

Ökosystembasierte Klimapolitik für Deutschland

Die Leistungen der Natur konnen zur Losung des Klimaproblems beitragen, indem sie gezielt fur den Klimaschutz und die Anpassung an den Klimawandel genutzt werden. Hierdurch lassen sich einerseits kostengunstiger Klimaschutz und andererseits Synergien zwischen Klimapolitik und Naturschutz- und Biodiversitatspolitik erzielen. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden zunachst die Wirkungen der deutschen Energie- und Klimapolitik auf die Biodiversitat und die Okosysteme in Deutschland aufgezeigt. Im Anschluss daran erfolgt eine Untersuchung der Okosystemleistungen naturnaher Landnutzungen fur Klimaschutz und Klimaanpassung. Es zeigt sich, dass im Agrarsektor erhebliche Minderungspotenziale fur Klimaschutz vor allem durch den verringerten Ausstos von Lachgas sowie die Erhaltung von Grunland bestehen. Moore und andere kohlenstoffreiche Boden konnen durch Erhaltung und Wiederherstellung als Kohlenstoffsenken dienen. Auenflachen leisten insbesondere einen Beitrag zum Hochwasserschutz und damit zur Anpassung an den Klimawandel. Die Klimawirkungen in den einzelnen Bereichen werden okonomisch bewertet und Handlungsempfehlungen fur eine okosystembasierte Klimapolitik formuliert.

The Multiple Benefits of Urban Green—Ecosystem Services Assessment

The elements of the green infrastructure in the urban space represent habitats for numerous species and provide a high variety of ecosystem services. A clarification of the benefits urban residents gain from urban green spaces as well as control of urban green quality at the city and federal level are necessary to derive and pinpoint urban planning and nature conservation strategies in this context. In this light, due to its integrated approach the concept of ecosystem services (ES) is gaining increased popularity in the global environmental debate.

Multifunktionalität und das Dilemma der Liberalisierung

ZusammenfassungDer Begriff der Multifunktionalität sensibilisiert dafür, dass ökonomisches Handeln geradezu konstitutionell mit zahlreichen Externalitäten verknüpft ist. Von diesen Externalitäten können nur einige sinnvoll monetarisiert werden und zudem ist eine Internalisierung nur in manchen Fällen effizient. Wir zeigen auf, dass die reduktionistische Vorgehensweise der Wohlfahrtsökonomik gerade auch durch den gesellschaftlichen Wertewandel an immer engere Grenzen stößt. Durch eine Erweiterung der Betrachtungsweisen der Wohlfahrtsökonomik werden negative Aspekte des freien Handels aufgezeigt, was ein Dilemma der Liberalisierung sichtbar macht.AbstractThe term multifunctionality makes it clear that economic action is, indeed, constitutionally linked with a lot of externalities. From these externalities only some have a meaningful monetary value. And only in certain cases it is efficient to internalise them. We show that the reductionist approach of welfare economics is of steadily decreasing meaning due to a change of societal values. By broadening the scope of welfare economics, negative aspects of free trade are traced which visualise a dilemma of liberalization.