HASSAN BENCHEKROUN, McGill University - Department of Economics
Email: hassan.benchekroun@mcgill.ca
AMRITA RAY CHAUDHURI, Tilburg University - Center and Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC)
Email: a.raychaudhuri@uvt.nl

We show that in a non-cooperative transboundary pollution game, a cleaner technology (i.e., a decrease in the emission to output ratio) induces each country to increase its emissions and ultimately can yield a higher level of pollution and reduce social welfare.

PATRICK A. MCLAUGHLIN, Federal Railroad Administration
Email: econpatrick@gmail.com
BENTLEY COFFEY, Clemson University
Email: bcoffey@clemson.edu

Information about collectively-created problems, such as air pollution, may elicit voluntary changes to consumer behavior that at least partially offset the cause of the problem. We show that increases in information about climate change are associated with statistically and economically significant decreases in expenditure on gasoline, controlling for gasoline prices and income. We simultaneously provide updated estimates of the short run price and income elasticities of demand for gasoline in the US, utilizing recent weekly gasoline consumption and price data and spatially-delineated supply side disruptions due to hurricanes as an instrument for price.

DANIEL H. COLE, Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis
Email: dancole@iupui.edu

This paper explores the significant role Regulatory Cost-Benefit Analysis (RCBA) plays in facilitating or impeding collective action. Domestically, well constructed RCBAs have facilitated collective action by muting political opposition. RCBAs can of course be manipulated to obstruct collective action or promote inefficient policies. However, the fact that RCBAs require transparency makes those efforts liable to discovery and disclosure, as in the case of the Bush Administration's failed "Clear Skies" initiative. The paper concludes with a discussion of the role RCBA is playing today in structuring international climate change negotiations, substantially determining the bargaining strategies of various parties in accordance with their differential expected costs and benefits.

NICK JOHNSTONE, Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)
Email: Nick.Johnstone@oecd.org
IVAN HAŠČIČ, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Email: ivan.hascic@oecd.org
PASCALE SCAPECCHI, OECD
Email: Pascale.Scapecchi@oecd.org

The effect of uncertainty related to environmental damages or technological change has on the optimal level of environmental policy stringency has been extensively analysed in the literature. However, empirical evidence on the innovation efforts of firms in the face of actual policy uncertainty has not been examined formally. Drawing upon real options theory, it is hypothesised that for any given level of environmental policy stringency, environmental policy uncertainty can serve as a brake on investment in innovative activities which can reduce the cost of meeting environmental objectives. By increasing the benefits of 'waiting', policy uncertainty will reduce incentives to identify innovative environmental technologies. Using patent counts as a measure of environmental innovation, preliminary empirical evidence has been presented which supports this hypothesis.

IVAN HAŠČIČ, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Email: ivan.hascic@oecd.org
NICK JOHNSTONE, Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)
Email: Nick.Johnstone@oecd.org

This paper examines the effect of the Kyoto Protocol on the international transfer of technologies relevant for climate change mitigation. The analysis is conducted using patent data on over 100 countries during a 20-year period 1985-2004. It is found that public policy plays a significant role in determining technology transfer. In particular, the degree of commitment and differences in the degree of commitment between pairs of Annex 1 countries has an effect on transfer. Transfers from Annex 1 countries to non-Annex 1 countries are significantly affected by involvement with the Clean Development Mechanism.

BRIGHAM DANIELS, University of Houston Law Center
Email: brigham.daniels@gmail.com

This short primer sets out a range of policy choices and legal options available to the EPA as it decides how it might use the Clean Air Act to address climate change. This paper was written as a background paper for a conference co-sponsored by Duke Law, Harvard Law School, and Duke's Nicholas Institute held on March 26, 2009.

JAMES HARRISON, University of Edinburgh - School of Law
Email: james.harrison@ed.ac.uk

The international regime on oil pollution liability and compensation was intended to harmonise national laws on this subject in order to ensure adequate compensation for oil pollution victims. The success of the regime depends upon both its effective implementation into national law and a consistent and uniform interpretation by national courts. In practice, the uniform interpretation of the international regime has proven to be a challenge because of the different approaches taken by national courts towards the interpretation of the treaties. It is argued in this paper that the contracting parties to the treaties underlying the international regime already have a power to adopt authoritative interpretations. Whilst some decisions of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund may qualify as authoritative interpretations, it has been suggested that this power is perhaps better exercised through the International Maritime Organization, given its broader membership. Where an authoritative interpretation has been adopted, states and their courts are under an international obligation to follow that interpretation. However, there is currently no mechanism at the international level to monitor and promote compliance by national authorities. It is therefore argued that tentative discussions on monitoring the implementation of the international regime should be stepped up with a view to creating a formal compliance mechanism.

MOHAMMAD BADRUL HAIDER, Department of Accounting & Information Systems, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Email: opuaccdu@yahoo.com

The aim of this paper is to review the literatures on corporate social and environmental reporting (CSER) in the developing and newly industrialized countries. Focus is only on some selected Asian countries namely Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh. In reviewing literatures emphasis is given on the objectives of the papers, methodologies used, sample selection, key findings, and theoretical interpretation of the social and environmental disclosures. This paper serves as an important document for those who want to do research in this area especially with reference to the developing countries.