Stahn

Publications

Private Exploitation of the North-Western Sahara Aquifer SystemJournal articleAmine Chekireb, Julio Goncalves, Hubert Stahn and Agnès Tomini, Environmental Modeling & Assessment, Volume 28, Issue 2, pp. 273-287, 2023

We formulate a hydro-economic model of the North-Western Sahara Aquifer System (NWSAS) to assess the effects of intensive pumping on the groundwater stock and examine the subsequent consequences of aquifer depletion. This large system comprises multi-layer reservoirs with vertical exchanges, all exploited under open access properties. We first develop a theoretical model to account for relevant features of the NWSAS by introducing, in the standard Gisser-Sanchez model, a non-stationary demand and quadratic stock-dependent cost functions. In the second step, we calibrate parameters values using data from the NWSAS over 1955–2000. We finally simulate the time evolution of the aquifer system with exploitation under an open-access regime. We specifically examine time trajectories of the piezometric levels in the two reservoirs, the natural outlets, and the modification of water balances. We find that natural outlets of the two reservoirs might be totally dried before 2050.

Intermittency and electricity retailing: An incomplete market approachJournal articleJean-Henry Ferrasse, Nandeeta Neerunjun and Hubert Stahn, Mathematical Social Sciences, Volume 120, pp. 24-36, 2022

We analyze the integration of intermittent renewables-based technologies into an electricity mix comprising of conventional energy. Intermittency is modeled by a contingent electricity market and we introduce demand-side flexibility through the retailing structure. Retailers propose diversified electricity contracts at different prices, but in an insufficient number to cover intermittent production. These delivery contracts are modeled similarly to numeraire assets. We study the competitive equilibrium of the state-contingent wholesale electricity markets and the delivery contract markets. We also provide an analysis linking the delivery contracts to social welfare. Finally, we discuss the conditions under which changing the delivery contracts improve penetration of renewables and increases welfare. These provide useful insights for managing intermittency and achieving renewable capacity objectives.

Externality and common-pool resources: The case of artesian aquifersJournal articleHubert Stahn and Agnès Tomini, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Volume 109, pp. 102493, 2021

This study examines a specific class of common-pool resources whereby rivalry is not characterized by competition for the resource stock. Artesian aquifers are a typical example of such resources since the stock never depletes, even when part of the resource is extracted. We first propose a dynamic model to account for the relevant features of such aquifers such as the water pressure and well yield and characterize the corresponding dynamics. We then compare the social optimum with the private exploitation of an open-access aquifer. The comparison of these two equilibria highlights the existence of a new source of inefficiency. In the long run, this so-called pressure externality results in an additional number of wells for the same water consumption, thereby raising costs. Finally, we characterize a specific stock-dependent tax to neutralize the pressure externality.

Biodiversity, Shapley value and phylogenetic trees: some remarksJournal articleHubert Stahn, Journal of Mathematical Biology, Volume 80, Issue 3, pp. 717-741, 2020

This paper explores the main differences between the Shapley values of a set of taxa introduced by Haake et al. (J Math Biol 56:479–497, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00285-007-0126-2) and Fuchs and Jin (J Math Biol 71:1133–1147, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00285-014-0853-0), the latter having been found identical to the Fair Proportion index (Redding and Mooers in Conserv Biol 20:1670–1678, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00555.x). In line with Shapley (in: Kuhn, Tucker (eds) Contributions to to the theory of games, volume II, annals of mathematics studies 28, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1953), we identify the cooperative game basis for each of these two classes of phylogenetic games and use them (i) to construct simple formulas for these two Shapley values and (ii) to compare these different approaches. Using the set of weights of a phylogenetic tree as a parameter space, we then discuss the conditions under which these two values coincide and, if they are not the same, revisit Hartmann’s (J Math Biol 67:1163–1170, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00285-012-0585-y) convergence result. An example illustrates our main argument. Finally, we compare the species ranking induced by these two values. Considering the Kendall and the Spearman rank correlation coefficient, simulations show that these rankings are strongly correlated. These results are consistent with Wicke and Fischer (J Theor Biol 430:207–214, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2017.07.010), who reach similar conclusions with a different simulation method.

On Outsourced Abatement Services: Market Power and Efficient RegulationJournal articleDamien Sans, Sonia Schwartz and Hubert Stahn, Annals of Economics and Statistics, Issue 136, pp. 55-78, 2019

In this paper, we consider competitive polluting firms that outsource their abatement activity to an upstream imperfect competitive eco-industry to comply with environmental regulation. In this case, we show that an usual environmental policy based on a Pigouvian tax or a pollution permit market reaches the first-best outcome. The main intuition is based on the idea that purchasing pollution reduction services instead of pollution abatement inputs modifies for each potential tax rate (or out of the equilibrium permit price) the nature of the arbitrage between pollution and abatement. This induces a demand for abatement services which is, at least partially, strongly elastic and therefore strongly reduces upstream market power. This argument is first illustrated with an upstream monopoly selling eco-services to a representative polluting firm under a usual Pigouvian tax. We then progressively extend the result to permit markets, heterogeneous downstream polluters and heterogeneous upstream Cournot competitors.

About polluting eco-industries: optimal provision of abatement goods and Pigouvian feesJournal articleDamien Sans, Sonia Schwartz and Hubert Stahn, Environmental Economics, Volume 8, Issue 3, pp. 46-61, 2017

In this article, the authors introduce a polluting eco-industry. Depending on the level of damage, there are two optimal equilibria. If the damage is low, one generalizes the usual results of the economic literature to the polluting eco-industry: the dirty firm partially abates their emissions, only efficient eco-industry firms produce and the abatement level increases with the damage. However, very specific results are obtained if the damage is high. In this case, not all efficient eco-industry firms produce. The abatement level and the number of active eco-industry firms both decrease as the damage increases. The authors finally show that a well-designed Pigouvian tax implements these equilibria in a competitive economy.

On conjunctive management of groundwater and rainwaterJournal articleHubert Stahn and Agnès Tomini, Resource and Energy Economics, Volume 49, pp. 186-200, 2017

We consider groundwater managed by a sole owner and where a perfect substitute, rainwater harvesting, is physically connected with the primary water source. This generates a marginal opportunity cost of using rainwater, since harvested water does not infiltrate. We first discuss the conditions that lead to a switch toward rainwater harvesting, then look at long-term rainwater harvesting systems. Due to limited storage capacity, long-term use of rainwater is only possible in conjunction with groundwater. We show that this only arises if the price of water is higher than the full marginal cost of rainwater harvesting. We also provide comparative statics related to this configuration, especially concerning the long-term water table. These results are finally illustrated by numerical examples. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the Environmental Efficiency of Water Storage: the Case of a Conjunctive use of Ground and RainwaterJournal articleHubert Stahn and Agnès Tomini, Environmental Modeling & Assessment, Volume 21, Issue 6, pp. 691-706, 2016

Rainwater harvesting, consisting in collecting runoff from precipitation, has been widely developed to stop groundwater declines and even raise water tables. However, this expected environmental effect is not self-evident. We show in a simple setting that the success of this conjunctive use depends on whether the runoff rate is above a threshold value. Moreover, the bigger the storage capacity, the higher the runoff rate must be to obtain an environmentally efficient system. We also extend the model to include other hydrological parameters and ecological damages, which respectively increase and decrease the environmental efficiency of rainwater harvesting.

Rainwater Harvesting under Endogenous Capacity of Storage: a Solution to Aquifer Preservation?Journal articleHubert Stahn and Agnès Tomini, Annals of Economics and Statistics, Issue 119-120, pp. 209-234, 2015

This paper studies groundwater management in the presence of rainwater harvesting (RWH). We propose a two-state model that takes into account the dynamics of the aquifer and the standard dynamics of the storage capacity, and we assume that the collection of rainwater reduces the natural recharge. We analyze the trade-off between these two water harvesting techniques in an optimal control model. In particular, we show that, when these techniques are perfect substitutes, the development of RWH leads in the long run to a depletion of the water table, even if pumping is reduced. This result is illustrated by a numerical application for the Pecos River Basin (New Mexico, USA). JEL: Q25, C61, D61. / KEY WORDS: Rainwater Harvesting, Conjunctive Use, Groundwater Management, Optimal Control.

Competitive Permit Markets and Vertical Structures: The Relevance of Imperfectly Competitive Eco-IndustriesJournal articleSonia Schwartz and Hubert Stahn, Journal of Public Economic Theory, Volume 16, Issue 1, pp. 69-95, 2014

Permit markets lead polluting firms to purchase abatement goods from an eco-industry which is often concentrated. This paper studies the consequences of this sort of imperfectly competitive eco-industry on the equilibrium choices of the competitive polluting firms. It then characterizes the second-best pollution cap. By comparing this situation to one of perfect competition, we show that Cournot competition on the abatement good market contributes not only to a nonoptimal level of emission reduction but also to a higher permit price, which reduces the production level. These distortions increase with market power, measured by the margin taken by the noncompetitive firms, and suggest a second-best larger pollution cap.