Information manipulation and Climate Agreements
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
American Journal of Agricultural Economics
Publication Date
4-2014
Volume
96
Issue
3
First Page
851
Last Page
861
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Keywords
Asymmetric information, climate change, information transmission, international environmental agreements
Abstract
It appears that news media and some pro-environmental organizations have the tendency to accentuate or even exaggerate the damage caused by climate change. This article provides a rationale for this tendency by using a modified International Environmental Agreement (IEA) model with asymmetric information. We find that the information manipulation has an instrumental value, as it ex post induces more countries to participate in an IEA, which will eventually enhance global welfare. From the ex ante perspective, however, the impact that manipulating information has on the level of participation in an IEA and on welfare is ambiguous.
DOI
10.1093/ajae/aau001
ISBN
00029092
Print ISSN
14678276
Publisher Statement
Copyright © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. All rights reserved.
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Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Hong, F., & Zhao, X. (2014). Information manipulation and Climate Agreements. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 96(3), 851-861. doi: 10.1093/ajae/aau001