The Grantham Research Institute Working Papers series is aimed at stimulating discussion among researchers across a wide range of academic disciplines. The series is aimed at technical and specialist audiences, usually other researchers in relevant fields. The papers have been reviewed by at least one internal referee before publication and the process is overseen by the series editors, Robert Falkner and Roger Fouquet. Often the content of working papers is submitted for review by academic journals and so in some cases an updated version of a paper may be available.
As sea levels rise with climate change there is pressure to protect the coast but while individual properties may benefit from seawalls, neighbouring properties may experience negative effects due, for example, to accelerated beach loss. This paper investigates the impacts of seawalls on property values in San Diego and Santa Cruz. Read more
Following a study of customers of a renewable energy provider in the UK, this paper explores the potential for environmental information and dissonance-inducing messaging to encourage resourceful behaviour, finding that such information and imagery are ineffective in inducing behaviour change. Read more
This paper uses data on the compliance of installations regulated under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme to investigate how the levels of trust in a country affect the compliance of firms with regulations on climate change. Read more
A key policy debate is whether agricultural production should be geared towards input-intensification or diversity of crops. Using data from Ethiopia this paper investigates the effects of crop diversity on production and finds that the impact on productivity may be lower than previously thought. Read more
This paper presents new evidence that the EU Emissions Trading System may have encouraged innovation rather than simply encouraging polluters to adopt existing abatement technologies. Read more
Using data for London, this research finds that elevated levels of air pollution have a positive and statistically significant impact on overall crime - and therefore that improving air quality in urban areas through tighter environmental policy may provide a cost-effective way to reduce crime. Read more
This paper addresses enduring misunderstandings about ‘social opportunity cost’ versus ‘social time preference’ discounting. Read more
This paper finds that the culture of cooperation sustained by trust within a country positively affects international cooperative behaviour, showing that an increase in trust between citizens results in larger cuts in carbon dioxide emissions. Read more
This research investigates the economic response of rural households in Pakistan to natural disasters, particularly the extent to which they adjust their savings and income strategies in response to floods. Read more
This study simulates an environmental dilemma: a group of individuals sharing a natural resource from which they can individually gain. It shows how network structure impacts social welfare and reveals the cost of exclusively relying on perfect peer monitoring and punishment to enhance cooperation. Read more