Regulation, Environment, Market : Research

The decoupling of economic growth and the resulting environmental impacts requires a major overhaul of our production activities and a drastic reduction in our use of natural resources. Among the possible avenues, Mouez Fodha is studying the circular economy and more specifically, the recycling of resources. His current research examines the long-term consequences of deploying different energy sources (fossil, nuclear, renewable).

Sufficiently reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in order to fulfil the objectives of the Paris Agreement, means we are facing the “carbon curse”, which is being studied by Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline, Mouez Fodha and Yassine Kirat. Their studies have shown that countries that have a plentiful supply of fossil resources have structurally higher emissions rates than resource-poor countries in all industries.

The emergence of new technologies can accelerate the energy and ecological transition, provided that economic policy incentives ensure they are adopted and more polluting technologies phased out. Xavier Koch and Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline are interested in this topic and more particularly in the technological lock-in effects that can block the dissemination of carbon-free technologies

• Researchers: Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline, Mouez Fodha, Fanny Henriet, Katheline Schubert.
• PhD Student: Xavier Koch.

Hélène Ollivier addresses the impact of typhoons on agricultural production and the prices of different agricultural products in the Philippines. Katrin Millock studies the socio-economic effects of extreme weather events, such as floods. She also works on how to adapt to climate change through migration and how this interacts with other forms of adaptation. The group also studies issues related to water scarcity and climate change.

• Researchers: Matthew Gordon, Katrin Millock, Hélène Ollivier.
• PhD students: Thomas Bézy, Lucile Dehouck, Beatriz Hernández Melián, Lucas Perez, Mudigonda Sarath Chandra.

In this area of research, it is crucial to ask whether international trade is positive for the environment, or instead the opposite; whether it exacerbates environmental externalities, leading to an increase in CO₂ emissions. Hélène Ollivier’s work focuses on this issue.

Another issue raised by Hélène Ollivier concerns the impacts of industrial or environmental regulation (for example, the European carbon market) which would only affect certain firms even though they have market power.

Environmental policies or regulations, when they are domestic, are generally excluded from international trade treaties. Nevertheless, they remain subject to the influence of pressure groups active in the sectors they seek to control. These costly domestic political games change the structure of countries’ comparative advantages and may also explain the maintenance of tariff barriers. David Martimort’s studies look at the obstacles preventing trade agreements in such a context.

• Researchers: Lorenzo Cassi, David Martimort, Helène Ollivier, Angelo Secchi.
• PhD students: Martin Jégard, Karin Gourdon, Gabriela Pilay.

Research projects on this topic deal with environmental policymaking while confronted by constraints of incomplete information, with different degrees of perception and different individual behaviors. The group’s researchers are also studying incentives to adopt more environmentally friendly technologies.

• Researchers: Emeline Bezin, Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline, Fanny Henriet, David Martimort, Hélène Ollivier.
• PhD student: Rosanne Logeart.

Mouez Fodha studies tax policies related to environmental protection, public debt and sustainable development, and the redistributive effects of environmental policies. Along with Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline, he has published several articles on how to redistribute revenues from environmental levies in order to correct their regressive effects.

• Researchers: Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline, Mouez Fodha, Stéphane Gauthier, Fanny Henriet, Katrin Millock, Katheline Schubert.
• PhD students: Thomas Bézy, Beatriz Hernández Melián.

A key to a successful sustainable mobility offering lies in developing digital platforms. This solution raises many regulation- and competition-related questions, as well as issues for users to accept and adopt new uses and their associated tariffs.

• Researchers: Philippe Gagnepain, David Martimort, Carine Staropoli.

The question of the relationship between competition policy and other sector-specific regulations remains central: what should the purpose of a competition authority be? Should sector-specific regulation be paramount in the event of conflict with the antitrust authorities’ stance? These are some of the issues addressed by the group’s researchers.

• Researchers: Catherine Bobtcheff, Bernard Caillaud, Pierre Fleckinger, Philippe Gagnepain, David Martimort, Carine Staropoli, Jean-Philippe Tropeano.
• PhD student: Clément Gras.