Essays in industrial organization and environmental economics
(2019)
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- Authors
- Supervisors
- Belleflamme, Paul
- Abstract
- This work analyses the incentives for the private sector to adopt business strategies with a lower impact on the environment. The analytical toolset of Industrial Organization is used to explicitly consider competition forces as an important driver behind the adoption of greener business models. The first strategy discussed is the adoption of an eco-label. By extending the classical vertical differentiation model to a Cournot oligopoly (a model developed under more general conditions in Chapter 1), Chapter 2 formalizes the argument that more ambitious eco-labelling standards increase the quality on offer in the labelled segment of the industry, but also undermine the uptake of such eco-label. The optimal level of eco-label standard that maximizes total profits, consumer surplus, or environmental quality thus depends on its impact on competition levels both in the labelled and in the conventional segment of the industry. The second strategy analysed is the introduction of take-back programs that reward consumers for dropping off old items when they purchase a new product (Chapter 3). The proposed model identifies the main drivers behind the introduction of such strategies, characterizes the optimal reward level, analyses the impact of take-back programs on social welfare, and discusses policies aimed at increasing their uptake.
- Affiliations
Citations
Forlin, V. (2019). Essays in industrial organization and environmental economics. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/53933