The provision of artificial light was revolutionised by a series of discontinuous innovations in lighting appliances, fuels, infrastructures and institutions during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In Britain, the real price of lighting fell dramatically (3,000-fold between 1800 and 2000) and quality rose. Along with rises in real income and population, these developments meant that…
Number 1
ISSN 2160-5890 (Online)
The New Energy-industrial Revolution and International Agreement on Climate Change
At the heart of the analysis of, and progress on, action on climate change, at both country and international levels, must be an understanding of three sets of issues. The first concerns scale: of the risks from unmanaged climate change; of the necessary response; and of the great economic and social opportunities from the new…
Some Political Economy of Global Warming
After recent disillusions, international climate change negotiations need to be jumpstarted. This paper first argues that countries’ strategic positioning will increase the cost of delay beyond that associated with the classic free-riding problem. It then investigates the governance of an agreement and the design of negotiation and compensation, emphasizing political economy considerations. The paper concludes…