Efficacy of Landfill Tax and Subsidy Policies for the Emergence of Industrial Symbiosis Networks: An Agent-Based Simulation Study

Luca Fraccascia, Ilaria Giannoccaro and Vito Albino
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Luca Fraccascia: Department of Mechanics, Mathematics, and Management, Politecnico di Bari, Viale Japigia 182, 70126 Bari, Italy
Ilaria Giannoccaro: Department of Mechanics, Mathematics, and Management, Politecnico di Bari, Viale Japigia 182, 70126 Bari, Italy
Vito Albino: Department of Mechanics, Mathematics, and Management, Politecnico di Bari, Viale Japigia 182, 70126 Bari, Italy

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: Despite the theoretical value of industrial symbiosis (IS), this approach appears to be underdeveloped in terms of practical applications. Different attempts to stimulate IS in practice are noticed, one of them consisting in the application of adequate policy measures. This paper explores the efficacy of two specific policies (landfill tax and economic subsidy for IS exchanges) in supporting the emergence of self-organized industrial symbiosis networks (ISNs). We frame the ISNs as complex adaptive systems and we design an agent-based model to simulate their emergence. We use a real case study and, by means of the simulation model, we assess how the two policy measures are able to enhance the formation of spontaneous IS relationships, thereby forcing the emergence of the ISN. Results show that both policy measures have a positive effect in all scenarios considered, but the extent is strictly dependent on the environmental conditions in which IS relationships occur. The economic implications for the government are finally discussed.

Keywords: industrial symbiosis; self-organized industrial symbiosis networks; self-organization and emergence; policy measures; agent-based simulation; enterprise input-output approach (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:4:p:521-:d:94536

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