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Optimal Firm Behavior under Environmental Constraints

Author

Listed:
  • Raouf Boucekkine
  • Natali Hritonenko
  • Yuri Yatsenko

Abstract

The paper examines the Porter and induced-innovation hypotheses in a firm model where: (i) the firm has a vintage capital technology with two complementary factors, energy and capital ; (ii) scrapping is endogenous; (iii) technological progress is energy-saving and endogenous through purposive R&D investment; (iv) the innovation rate increases with R&D investment and decreases with complexity; (v) the firm is subject to emission quotas which put an upper bound on its energy consumption at any date; (vi) energy and capital prices are exogenous. Balanced growth paths are first characterized, and a comparative static analysis is performed to study a kind of long-term Porter and induced-innovation hypotheses. In particular, it is shown that tighter emission quotas do not prevent firms to grow in the long-run, thanks to endogenous innovation, but they have an inverse effect on the growth rate of profits. Some short-term dynamics are also produced, particularly, to analyze the role of initial conditions and energy prices in optimal firm behaviour subject to environmental regulation. Among numerous results, we show that (i) firms which are historically “small” polluters find it optimal to massively pollute in the short run: during the transition, new and clean machines will co-exist with old and dirty machines in the productive sectors, implying an unambiguously dirty transition; (ii) higher energy prices induce a shorter lifetime for capital goods but they depress investment in both new capital and R&D, featuring a kind of reverse Hicksian mechanism.

Suggested Citation

  • Raouf Boucekkine & Natali Hritonenko & Yuri Yatsenko, "undated". "Optimal Firm Behavior under Environmental Constraints," Working Papers 2008_11, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
  • Handle: RePEc:gla:glaewp:2008_11
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    File URL: http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_73728_en.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Raouf Boucekkine & David de la Croix & Omar Licandro, 2006. "Vintage Capital," Economics Working Papers ECO2006/8, European University Institute.
    2. R. M. Solow & J. Tobin & C. C. Weizsäcker & M. Yaari, 1971. "Neoclassical Growth with Fixed Factor Proportions," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: F. H. Hahn (ed.), Readings in the Theory of Growth, chapter 9, pages 68-102, Palgrave Macmillan.
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    4. Boucekkine, Raouf & del Rio, Fernando & Licandro, Omar, 1999. "Endogenous vs Exogenously Driven Fluctuations in Vintage Capital Models," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 161-187, September.
    5. Feichtinger, Gustav & Hartl, Richard F. & Kort, Peter M. & Veliov, Vladimir M., 2005. "Environmental policy, the porter hypothesis and the composition of capital: Effects of learning and technological progress," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 434-446, September.
    6. Boucekkine, R. & Ruiz-Tamarit, J.R., 2008. "Special functions for the study of economic dynamics: The case of the Lucas-Uzawa model," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 33-54, January.
    7. Boucekkine, Raouf & Germain, Marc & Licandro, Omar, 1997. "Replacement Echoes in the Vintage Capital Growth Model," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 333-348, June.
    8. Richard G. Newell & Adam B. Jaffe & Robert N. Stavins, 1999. "The Induced Innovation Hypothesis and Energy-Saving Technological Change," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 941-975.
    9. Feichtinger, Gustav & Hartl, Richard F. & Kort, Peter M. & Veliov, Vladimir M., 2008. "Financially constrained capital investments: The effects of disembodied and embodied technological progress," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(5-6), pages 459-483, April.
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    11. N. Hritonenko & Yu. Yatsenko, 2005. "Turnpike and Optimal Trajectories in Integral Dynamic Models with Endogenous Delay," Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 127(1), pages 109-127, October.
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    14. Segerstrom, Paul S, 2000. "The Long-Run Growth Effects of R&D Subsidies," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 277-305, September.
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    16. Krusell, Per, 1998. "Investment-Specific R&D and the Decline in the Relative Price of Capital," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 131-141, June.
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    18. Suresh P. Sethi, 2021. "Optimal Control Theory," Springer Texts in Business and Economics, Springer, edition 4, number 978-3-030-91745-6, December.
    19. Feichtinger, Gustav & Hartl, Richard F. & Kort, Peter M. & Veliov, Vladimir M., 2006. "Capital accumulation under technological progress and learning: A vintage capital approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(1), pages 293-310, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Spiritus, Kevin & Lehmann, Etienne & Renes, Sander & Zoutman, Floris T., 0. "Optimal taxation with multiple incomes and types," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society.
    2. Yuri, YATSENKO & Raouf, BOUCEKKINE & Natali, HRITONENKO, 2008. "Estimating the Dynamics of R&D-based Growth Models," Discussion Papers (ECON - Département des Sciences Economiques) 2008034, Université catholique de Louvain, Département des Sciences Economiques.
    3. Mikael Linden & Matti Makela & Jussi Uusivuori, 2013. "Fuel Input Substitution under Tradable Carbon Permits System: Evidence from Finnish Energy Plants 2005-2008," The Energy Journal, , vol. 34(2), pages 145-168, April.
    4. Brechet, Thierry & HRITONENKO, Natali & YATSENKO, Yuri, 2010. "Adaptation and mitigation in long-term climate policies," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2010065, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    5. Théophile T. Azomahou & Raouf Boucekkine & Phu Nguyen-Vanc, "undated". "Promoting Clean Technologies: The Energy Market Structure Crucially Matters," Working Papers 2008_13, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    6. Boucekkine, Raouf & Hritonenko, Natali & Yatsenko, Yuri, 2011. "Scarcity, regulation and endogenous technical progress," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 186-199, March.
    7. AZOMAHOU, Théophile & BOUCEKKINE, Raouf & NGUYEN-VAN, Phu, 2009. "Promoting clean technologies under imperfect competition," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2009011, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    8. Alejandro Caparrós & Richard E. Just & David Zilberman, 2015. "Dynamic Relative Standards versus Emission Taxes in a Putty-Clay Model," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(2), pages 277-308.
    9. Mikael Linden, Matti Makela, and Jussi Uusivuori, 2013. "Fuel Input Substitution under Tradable Carbon Permits System: Evidence from Finnish Energy Plants 2005-2008," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Vintage capital; R&D; Emission quotas; Porter hypothesis; Induced innovation hypothesis; Optimization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D92 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Intertemporal Firm Choice, Investment, Capacity, and Financing
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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