Analysis of the Impacts of EU Biofuels Programs using a GTAP model

Monica Padella, Adele Finco and Wallace Tyner

No 332124, Conference papers from Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project

Abstract: Biofuels have the potential of playing an important role in the renewable energy sources panorama, ensuring the achievement of multiple goals such as security of supply, reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and development of business opportunities in the agricultural and rural sectors. Subsidies to the sector were rationalized on this basis. However, three potential impacts could offset any benefits biofuels may bring, and careful assessment and analysis of biofuels’ impacts are necessary. These possible consequences involve food prices and food security; economic distortions of subsidies; and environmental and ecological impacts on land-use and global GHG emissions. The present paper applies a general equilibrium model, an extended version of the GTAP model developed by Hertel, Tyner and Birur in 2010, to analyze the combined impacts of the US (US Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007) and EU (Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC) biofuels programs with a particular emphasis on the effects in the European Union in 2015. An alternative GTAP model closure has been used: unemployment in US and EU27 is introduced making endogenous the unskilled labor supply in both regions and fixing real wages. The results of the paper are presented in terms of socio-economic (prices, welfare and employment), and environmental (land use change and Co2 emissions) impacts.

Keywords: Research Methods/Statistical Methods; Resource/Energy Economics and Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/332124/files/5307.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:pugtwp:332124

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Conference papers from Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().