Shunji Matsuoka

Meta-analysis of contingent valuation studies on air pollution-related morbidity risks

Benefits of reduced morbidity are important information for cost-benefit analyses of air pollution control policies. With an increasing number of morbidity valuation studies, policymakers are facing some difficulty handling the accumulated information. This article uses a meta-analysis to attain insights from the literature on economic valuation of short-term health effects due to air pollution. Sixteen available contingent valuation studies on morbidity risk valuation were pooled to identify the relations between willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimates and possible influential factors. The results indicate that health risk characteristics expressed in terms of severity and duration of illness, population characteristics (e.g., income and education), and study features affect individuals’ WTP to reduce or avoid a given morbidity. By controlling for these factors, a meta-regression-based function can be used to predict WTP values for use in benefit analyses of policy evaluation.

Validity of contingent valuation estimates from developing countries: scope sensitivity analysis

In developing countries contingent valuation (CV) has become an important tool for estimating willingness to pay (WTP). So far, however, the CV studies usually have not assessed the validity of the WTP estimates mainly due to ambiguities in the criteria for scope sensitivity analysis. In this article we clarify the criteria from theoretical and empirical aspects. The main debate on scope sensitivity analysis targets the proportionality theory: One group supports strong proportionality, and the other group supports weak proportionality. We highlight the shortcomings of strong proportionality and support weak proportionality. We set up the criteria for statistical significance and plausible responsiveness between the WTP and its explanatory variables. We conducted scope sensitivity of our case study from rural Pakistan to show its applicability in developing countries and to test the validity of our WTP estimates. Statistical analysis, based on the maintained hypothesis, reveals that the magnitude of the benefits and per capita income are significant variables that influence the WTP. The Kruskall-Wallis test reconfirmed the significance of the size of the benefits. Plausible responsiveness is evident from the influence of the household characteristics over the WTP. Finally, we concluded that CV can provide valid results in developing countries if the survey is conducted according to the mainstream guidelines. Further empirical testing is required to support the criterion of plausible responsiveness.

Cost benefit analysis of the sulfur dioxide emissions control policy in Japan

This study attempted to examine the economic efficiency of the sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions control policy in Japan using a cost-benefit analysis (CBA). The SO2 emissions control policy is divided into three stages by epochal policy decisions. Reducing the incidence of chronic bronchitis and asthma are the two main policy benefits considered in this study, and they are estimated mainly based on the cost of illness approach. Policy costs have been derived from private sector investments for pollution control to meet the pollution standards under command and control (CAC) regulations. The estimated results, using a social discount rate of 2.5%, indicate a cost-benefit ratio of 5.39 in stage 1 (1968–1973), 1.18 in stage 2 (1974–1983), and 0.41 in stage 3 (1984–1993). This result indicates that the CAC in Japan used to have strong efficiency but that this efficiency has decreased over time. Our paper suggests that it is necessary to reconsider policy approaches in light of policy efficiency and in moving from SO2 to new target priority pollutants.

Institutional Mechanisms and the Consequences of International Environmental Agreements

This article examines the institutional mechanisms affecting the environment and economies of the member countries of international environmental agreements (IEAs), particularly focusing on the legalization and flexibility aspects of IEAs. To identify the factors that influence the consequences of IEAs, we applied the Bayesian probit model to a database including 123 IEAs related to 23 international environmental regimes. The environmental consequences data were taken from the existing database and rescored (Böhmelt and Pilster 2010; Breitmeier et al. 2006), and unintended economic consequences were identified using data from 209 countries. Legally binding IEAs showed a significant improvement of environmental performance, but a significant decrease was related to the presence of inflexible rules. Moreover, decision-making flexibility was positively related to environmental improvement, and negatively related to regime body flexibility. The economic consequences model showed a positive significant impact of the secretariat’s independence on the economies of member countries, while legally binding IEAs showed negative effects. All flexibility elements showed positive impacts on economic consequences. In our research, IEA uncertainty had negative effects on both the environmental and economic aspects; however, we observed positive relationships in the environment and economic analyses when IEAs promoted public goods.

The genesis and end of institutional fragmentation in global governance on climate change from a constructivist perspective

Global governance on climate change experienced institutional fragmentation by the generation of a competing institution, the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP), in 2005, outside the previously dominant institutions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Why was a competing institution created beside the extant dominant institutions in a singular international issue area? This puzzling question on the genesis of institutional fragmentation has been theoretically explored through international relation theories. However, a full-fledged answer has not come yet. This paper explains the genesis of institutional fragmentation on the theoretical grounds of constructivism’s normative contestation for strategic social construction. Results show that the APP was created by a norm entrepreneur as an organizational platform to embody normative contestation and diffuse the competing normative interpretations of climate change norms.

The position of the Low Carbon Growth Partnership (LCGP): at the end of Japan’s navigation between the Kyoto Protocol and the APP

A new climate change institutional package, the East Asia Low Carbon Growth Partnership (LCGP), has been recently developed. The LCGP has significant implications because it was initiated by Japan, which has navigated between the Kyoto Protocol (KP) and the Asia–Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP) but ended the navigation by announcing its intention not to participate in the second commitment period of the KP. This paper investigates the position of the LCGP on the spectrum drawn by the KP and the APP using the theoretical ground of normative contestation. Results show that the normative stance of the LCGP is skewed toward the APP; however, the LCGP differentiates itself from the APP by its own functional properties and through its institutional fit with another regional institution, the East Asia Summit. The LCGP puts another complexion on global climate change governance.

Valuing Rural Piped Water Services in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: Case Study at Phuoc Vinh Dong Commune

Over 42 million people of Vietnam do not have access to safe water. To address the problem efficiently, we need an appropriate method to estimate people’s demands for safe water supply and factors affecting their demands. This paper presents a case study of the use of the contingent valuation method (CVM), as a solution to the problem. The CVM has been considered an important method to value environmental goods, and it has been increasingly applied in developing countries since the 1980s to value water supply services and other important environmental goods.