Sebnem Sahin

Valuing mortality and morbidity in the context of disaster risks

Benefit-cost analyses of disaster risk reduction (DRR) projects are an important tool for evaluating the efficiency of such projects, and an important input into decision making. These analyses, however, often fail to monetize the benefits of reduced death and injury. The authors review the literature on valuing reduced death and injury, and suggest methods for calculating order-of-magnitude estimates of these benefits. Because few empirical estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) are available for developing countries, methods for transferring estimates from high income to middle and low income countries are reviewed. The authors suggest using the range of values implied by an income elasticity of 1.0 and an elasticity of 1.5. With regard to injury valuation they discuss arguments for and against monetizing Quality Adjusted Life Years, and provide shortcuts to valuing injuries that may be used to assess their importance in DRR benefit-cost analyses.

India's Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability: What are the Tradeoffs?

One of the key environmental problems facing India is that of particle pollution from the combustion of fossil fuels. This has serious health consequences and with the rapid growth in the economy these impacts are increasing. At the same time, economic growth is an imperative and policy makers are concerned about the possibility that pollution reduction measures could reduce growth significantly. This paper addresses the tradeoffs involved in controlling local pollutants such as particles. Using an established Computable General Equilibrium model, it evaluates the impacts of a tax on coal or on emissions of particles such that these instruments result in emission levels that are respectively 10 percent and 30 percent lower than they otherwise would be in 2030. The main findings are as follows: (i) A 10 percent particulate emission reduction results in a lower gross domestic product but the size of the reduction is modest; (ii) losses in gross domestic proudct from the tax are partly offset by the health gains from lower particle emissions; (iii) the taxes reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by about 590 million tons in 2030 in the case of the 10 percent reduction and 830 million tons in the case of the 30 percent reduction; and (iv) taken together, the carbon dioxide reduction and the health benefits are greater than the loss of gross domestic product in both cases.

Agricultural Policies and Trade Paths in Turkey

In 1959, shortly after the European Economic Community was founded under the 1957 Treaty of Rome, Turkey applied for Associate Membership in the then six-member common market. By 1963, a path for integrating the economies of Turkey and the eventual European Union had been mapped. As with many trade agreements, agriculture posed difficult political hurdles, which were never fully cleared, even as trade barriers to other sectors were eventually removed and a Customs Union formed. This essay traces the influences the Turkey-European Union economic institutions have had on agricultural policies and the agriculture sector. An applied general equilibrium framework is used to provide estimates of what including agriculture under the Customs Union would mean for the sector and the economy. The paper also discusses the implications of fully aligning Turkeys agricultural policies with the European Unions Common Agricultural Policy, as would be required under full membership.