Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Intent To Purchase A Plug-In Electric Vehicle: A Survey Of Early Impressions In Large U.S. Cites, Rachel Krause

Rachel M. Krause

This paper examines consumer stated intent to purchase plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and assesses the factors that increase or decrease interest. It utilizes a survey of 2,302 adult drivers in 21 large U.S. cities. The survey occurred in early fall 2011, before vehicle manufacturers and dealers began information and marketing campaigns, and thus serves to document early impressions of this emerging transport technology. The central finding of the analysis is that, given current battery technology and public perceptions, overall stated intent to purchase or lease PEVs is low. Interest in plug-in hybrid technology is somewhat greater than interest in all-electric …

Early Public Impressions Of Terrestrial Carbon Capture And Storage In A Coal-Intensive State., Rachel Krause

Rachel M. Krause

While carbon capture and storage (CCS) is considered to be critical to achieving long-term climate-protection goals, public concerns about the CCS practice could pose significant obstacles to its deployment. This study reports findings from the first state-wide survey of public perceptions of CCS in a coal-intensive state, with an analysis of which factors predict early attitudes toward CCS. Nearly three-quarters of an Indiana sample (N=1,001) agree that storing carbon underground is a good approach to protecting the environment, despite 80% of the sample being unaware of CCS prior to participation in the two-wave survey. The majority of respondents do not …

Transaction Costs And Environmental Policy: An Assessment Framework And Literature Review, Kerry Krutilla Rachel M. Krause

Rachel M. Krause

This article develops a “transaction cost” framework for the analysis of environmental policy, and uses it to organize a discussion of recent literature on policy design and evaluation. We also consider the implications of this framework for optimal environmental policy-making and benefit-cost analysis. The conceptual orientation motivating the work is influenced by the neoinstitutional economics perspective developed by Eggertsson (1990), and others, which itself is influenced by the fundamental work of Coase (1937, 1960).

This transaction cost framework will emphasize the costs of establishing the rights to use environmental resources and the costs of the ex post monitoring and enforcement …

Symbolic Or Substantive Policy? Measuring The Extent Of Local Commitment To Climate Protection, Rachel M. Krause

Rachel M. Krause

Over 1,000 U.S. municipalities have formally committed to reduce their local greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through participation in one of several climate protection networks. This has attracted the attention of researchers interested in theories of free-riding and local political decision making who question why municipalities become engaged in this global effort. However, whereas joining a climate protection network or adopting an emissions reduction goal are relatively low cost acts, the implementation of such policies entails higher costs. This raises legitimate questions about the extent and type of follow-through made on municipal climate protection commitments. This paper begins to fill-in the …

Symbolic Or Substantive Policy? Measuring The Extent Of Local Commitment To Climate Protection, Rachel M. Krause

Rachel M. Krause

Over 1,000 U.S. municipalities have formally committed to reduce their local greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through participation in one of several climate protection networks. This has attracted the attention of researchers interested in theories of free-riding and local political decision making who question why municipalities become engaged in this global effort. However, whereas joining a climate protection network or adopting an emissions reduction goal are relatively low cost acts, the implementation of such policies entails higher costs. This raises legitimate questions about the extent and type of follow-through made on municipal climate protection commitments. This paper begins to fill-in the …