Les Séminaires ont lieu les jeudis de 13h00 à 14h00 et en visioconférence entre :
Pau (salle Chadefaud du bâtiment ICL, ou salle des thèses, salle du Conseil ou salle D04 du bâtiment DEG)
Bayonne (salle de réunion 110 ou salle du Conseil)
Les travaux des membres de l’équipe et ceux de nos invités y sont présentés et discutés.
Si vous êtes intéressés pour présenter vos travaux, veuillez contacter Alexandre VOLLE.
[E] How Does the Cost of Capital Affect Oil Supply?
Le 5 juin 2025
Julien DAUBANES, Professeur associé à l'Université technique du Danemark - le 5 juin 2025 à 13hà Bayonne, en salle 110 ;à Pau, en salle des thèses (bât. DEG) ; via Teams.
Auteurs:
Helena Cordt, Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Julien Daubanes, Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and CESifo
Yiding Ma, Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Abstract:
In the past decade, a rapidly growing number of investors have committed to stop financing the production of carbon resources. While investors’ sacrifice increases the cost of capital for oil production projects, no normative benchmark exists indicating the financial returns that markets should forego to produce incentives aligned with climate objectives. To fill this gap, we harness economic modeling, empirical calibration, and numerical simulations. We build a model of the oil market in which the industry’s cost of capital affects drilling decisions. We calibrate the model using data covering all U.S. oil assets and simulate the dynamic competitive equilibrium in two counterfactual scenarios for the period 2000-2030: one with carbon pricing, and one with “green finance,” modeled as an augmented cost of capital. In our setting, a $60 carbon price decreases oil-related emissions by 15%. By contrast, an increase in the cost of capital by 5 percentage points results in an increase in emissions by 2%. On the one hand, green finance (slightly) increases the marginal cost of oil production; on the other hand, it generates short-termism, inducing the industry to exploit oil fields that would have remained untapped otherwise. For moderate increases in the cost of capital, the second effect dominates, making green finance counterproductive. Green finance becomes effective only when it makes the net present value of oil projects negative, which requires unrealistically high costs of capital.
[E] Brands under Gravity: Intellectual Property and International Trade
Le 23 mai 2025
José DE SOUSA, professeur d'économie à l'Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas - le 23 mai 2025 à 14h30à Pau, en salle des thèses (bât. DEG).
Abstract
Not all firms register their trademarks despite the relatively low cost of filing abroad and at home. We address this puzzle by showing that trademark registrations follow a gravity structure: firms protect their brands in nearby markets with high market potential, mirroring the geography of their export sales. Using this gravity pattern to guide identification, we find that protecting brands abroad positively affects bilateral exports. Firms therefore seek targeted protection rather than global coverage, underscoring trademarks as an overlooked channel through which intangible assets stimulate trade.
[E] The Economics of Renewables Expansion: Price and Profit impacts in France
Le 22 mai 2025
Sai BRAVO-MELGAREJO, CEA I-Tésé & Université Paris Saclay - le 22 mai 2025 à 13hà Pau, en salle des thèses (bât. DEG) ; à Bayonne, en salle 110 ; via Teams.
Abstract
This paper examines the medium-term effect of renewable capacity expansions on electricity prices and the production of other generation sources in France, using data from 2015 to 2023. Specifically, it investigates how the growth of solar and wind energy has influenced hourly wholesale electricity prices, as well as the production and profitability of other generation sources. France is a particularly interesting case study because, unlike in other markets where renewables have displaced production from traditional high-emission sources, the French market has traditionally been dominated by a low-carbon source: nuclear power.
[E] Evolution, Adaptation and Preferences: Cooperators and Defectors
Le 24 avr. 2025
Guillaume CHEIKBOSSIAN, professeur à l'Université de Montpellier - le 24 avril 2025 à 13hà Pau, en salle des thèses; à Bayonne, en salle 110 ; via Teams.
Abstract
The article applies adaptive dynamics from evolutionary biology to study how social preferences evolve in group settings, particularly in public goods production. It examines how individuals' efforts interactions —whether they are substitutes or complements—and how these dynamics shape cooperation. A monomorphic population where all individuals have the same social preferences and therefore the same behaviors is an evolutionarily stable equilibrium only if the degree of complementarity between individual efforts in joint production is sufficiently high. If, on the contrary, individual efforts are too substitutable, then the population converges toward a polymorphic population with full cooperators co-existing with full defector.
[E] Inter-municipal cooperation in drinking water supply: Trade-offs between transaction costs, efficiency and service quality
Le 3 avr. 2025
Alexandre MAYOL, maître de conférences à l'Université de Lorraine - le 3 avril 2025 à 13hà Pau, en salle Chadefaud ; en visio via TEAMS et à Bayonne, en salle 110.
Abstract
Inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) is frequently promoted as a solution to improve the management of local utilities such as drinking water. Yet its effectiveness remains ambiguous: while IMC can create economies of scale, it may also induce transaction costs that undermine its benefits. In France, drinking water services are managed at the municipal level, where local governments can decide whether to cooperate—and if so, whether to adopt a purely technical cooperative arrangement or a more politically integrated, supra-municipal governance structure. Using a comprehensive panel of French water utilities from 2008 to 2021, we investigate the factors that lead municipalities to remain independent. Our econometric analysis, based on a correlated random effects probit model with a control function approach, yields several key findings. First, while IMC is associated with higher water prices, these increased tariffs are offset by better network performance, as indicated by lower water loss indices and improved water quality. Second, we find that the more politically integrated form of cooperation is more common among publicly managed utilities and among municipalities seeking to reduce their dependence on imported water. These findings provide new insights into the governance of common-pool resources, suggesting that while cooperation can improve service provision, its institutional design must carefully balance organizational costs against expected efficiency gains.
[E] Does working from Home Pollute? The environmental effects of WFH
Le 20 mars 2025
Emmanuelle LAVAINE, MC en économie à l'Université de Montpellier - le 20 mars 2025 à 13h - Visioconférence TEAMS accessible en salle des thèses à Pau et en salle 110 à Bayonne.
Abstract Work-from-home (WFH) arrangements experienced an unprecedented boom since the Covid-19 crisis, raising questions about their environmental impact. This study investigates the causal effect of WFH on PM2.5 concentrations, the most harmful air pollutant globally, using high-resolution pollution data and employment records from France. We find that WFH increases PM2.5 levels, especially in areas with many home-based workers. Residential emissions surpass reductions in transport pollution, leading to a net rise in air pollution. These findings highlight the need for policies to address the environmental challenges of WFH, particularly through energy efficiency and cleaner heating technologies.
[E] Enhancing Energy Efficiency to tackle Climate Change: the impact of Environmental Policy Stringency in European OECD countries
Le 30 janv. 2025
Camille MASSIE GAMARD, enseignante-chercheur en économie - le 30 janvier 2025 à 13h - en salle des thèses à Pau ; en visioconférence à Bayonne en salle 110 ; via Teams.
Abstract The increasing urgency of the climate crisis necessitates massive energy efficiency enhancement. This study investigates the impact of environmental policy stringency on energy efficiency across 18 European OECD countries from 2000 to 2020, using quantile regression analysis. Our research question centers on how different environmental policy instruments affect the level of energy efficiency across various quantiles and economic sectors. The analysis reveals that environmental policy stringency significantly enhances energy efficiency, particularly in the 50th to 90th quantiles, indicating heterogeneous effects. Non-market based (NMB) policies have the most substantial impact on countries with lower improvements in energy efficiency, suggesting these should be prioritized in such contexts. Market based (MB) policies show more pronounced effects in countries with higher energy efficiency improvements. Our findings highlight the necessity of tailored policy interventions to maximize efficiency. Policymakers should prioritize NMB policies, such as mandatory emission limits and standards on some detrimental molecules. Additionally, encouraging MB mechanisms, such as high carbon pricing, expanded energy taxes can accelerate improvements where these are already effective. Continued efforts for Technology Support (TS) instruments are also crucial across all countries. Future research could expand the temporal and geographical scope to capture the full spectrum of environmental policy impacts in energy efficiency.
[E] Exporters' behavior in the face of climate volatility
Le 5 déc. 2024
Philippe BONTEMS, chercheur à l'INRAE - le 5 décembre 2024 à 13h à Bayonne, en salle 110 ; en visioconférence à Pau en salle des thèses (bâtiment DEG) ; via Teams.
Abstract This study investigates how exporters when confronted with hybrid production and demand shocks make export decisions. We exploit a unique dataset compiling French wine shipments from 2001 to 2020 for 134 Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) regions, supplemented with daily weather data from Météo-France. Employing a series of gravity estimations, our findings indicate that extreme weather conditions significantly affect both the intensive and extensive margins of trade, while favorable weather conditions bolster them. A heterogeneity analysis further reveals that volumes exported to core markets exhibit less sensitivity to extreme weather events, suggesting that French wine exporters discriminate between importing markets and prioritize maintaining market shares in core destinations amidst weather disruptions. Subsequently, we offer a theoretical analysis elucidating how the volatility of climate shocks, affecting production and quality, shapes export behavior. Firms may opt to reduce marketing investments aimed at reaching consumers while reallocating resources to the most promising markets. Additionally, some firms may find it advantageous to streamline their portfolio by exiting less favorable markets.
[E] The Effect of Energy Efficiency Obligations on Residential Energy Use: Empirical Evidence from France
Le 14 nov. 2024
Matthieu GLACHANT, enseignant chercheur à Mines Paris PSL - le 14 novembre 2024 à 13h à Pau, en salle des thèses (bâtiment DEG) ; en visioconférence à Bayonne, en salle 110 ; via Teams.
Abstract Energy Efficiency Obligations are widespread policy instruments to reduce energy use. They require energy suppliers to deliver a set amount of energy savings. The obligated parties then comply by offering subsidies for energy-efficient investments to energy users. We use a new dataset covering over 3.1 million energy retrofit projects from 2018 to 2020 to assess the impact of the French program on residential electricity and gas use. We find that the official reporting on the program’s outcome significantly overstates the energy savings by at least 62%. We then exploit the fact that obligations are tradable to recover the implied marginal abatement cost of carbon. Importantly, this cost exceeds EUR 160 per ton of CO2 equivalent. Matthieu Glachant, Guillaume Wald
[E] Stocks as Lotteries? An Experimental Test of Expected Utility vs Prospect Theory Models
Le 17 oct. 2024
Yao Thibaut KPEGLI, maître de conférences en économie - le 17 octobre 2024 à 13hà Pau, en salle du conseil en lettres; à Bayonne, en salle 110 ; via Teams.
Abstract We examine the impact of positive skewness on asset prices using CAPM experiments. Contrary to the predictions of expected utility models but consistent with prospect theory, our findings reveal that skewed assets available in small supply exhibit negative excess returns. In line with prospect theory models, we show that the negative excess return of the positively skewed asset is most pronounced in market sessions in which traders overweight the low probability of receiving a large payoff.
