Rabindra N. Bhattacharya

CO2 emission from energy use in India: a decomposition analysis

This paper aims at identifying the factors that have influenced the changes in the level of energy-related CO2 emissions. By means of decomposition method the observed changes are analysed in terms of four factors: pollution coefficient, energy intensity, structural changes and economic activity. The study refers to the major economic sectors of India for the period 1980–1996. The results show economic growth has the largest positive effect in CO2 emissions changes in all the major economic sectors. Emissions of CO2 in industrial and transport sectors show a decreasing trend due to improved energy efficiency and fuel switching. However, the reducing effect of the pollution coefficient and energy intensity on CO2 emissions in agricultural sector is almost nil. The energy intensity varies over a wider range and has had a greater impact on energy-induced CO2 emissions than the pollution coefficient.

ENERGY INTENSITY AND CARBON FACTOR IN CO 2 EMISSION INTENSITY

In the evolution of carbon dioxide emission intensity, the role of energy intensity or carbonization index is mainly an empirical issue that cannot be resolved with certainty from the experience of a group of countries during a given period of time. The present empirical study reveals that CO2 emission intensity cannot be evaluated unambiguously using either variation in carbon emission factor or energy intensity as the criterion. Different levels of CO2 emission intensities in different regions result from different causes. These include large variation in explanatory factors in the data, the measure of economic output, and structural comparability.

Attitudes and cooperation: does gender matter in community-based forest management?

Does gender matter in peoples attitudes and cooperation in community-based natural resource management? If so, how do gender differences in conservation-related attitudes help or hinder sustaining the commons? Since biases ingrained in community norms and expectations often exclude women from decision making in co-management, it is imperative to find plausible answers to these queries in order to understand gender relations and cooperation in co-management. To this end, the authors conducted psychometric surveys and trust experiments on 196 forest-dependent households in West Bengal, India during 2009–2010. The findings suggest that, despite an overall negative perception about womens involvement in co-management, women are more conservation friendly and pro-social than men. It is also noticed that forest biomass and forest incomes as the indicators of sustainability have increased in those forest communities where womens proportional strength as decision makers is greater and people hold an overall positive conservation attitude.

Occupational Diseases and Their Determinants A Study of Coal Mine Workers in West Bengal

In recent years theoretical and empirical are focussing on occupational health hazards in industries that deal with gemstone, lime, etc. In this paper the focus is on one such industry – coal. We seek to examine the nature and magnitude of occupational diseases in coal-mining. The socio-economic and technological factors determining the incidence of occupational diseases on workers is also identified using a Tobit model. Finally, the implications of the findings of this paper for designing an optimal health care strategy have been stated. The work is based on a survey of three coal mines in the state of West Bengal, India.

Health Care Expenditure of Coal Mine Workers: A Case Study in West Bengal

In recent years attention has been increasingly drawn to environmental problems caused by industrial and consumption activities. While theoretical and empirical literature has focused on mainly externalities generated by such activities, the effects of production on the workers may also be significant. Such health hazards are prominent in labour-intensive industries like gem cutting, limestone and mining. In this paper the focus is on the coal industry. The nature of coal mining is such that one would expect that the workers engaged in the mining process suffer from various ailments. This paper seeks to examine the magnitude of the burden in terms of health care expenditure caused by such hazards. The authors also seek to identify the factors determining the health care expenditure on workers. The work is based on a survey of three coal mines (using three different types of extraction technologies) in the state of West Bengal, India.