Volume 13, Issue 2 - Special Issue: Climate change and Carbon Neutrality: Guest Editor: Seung-Gyu Sim, Aoyama Gakuin University

This study investigates the impact of target emissions from polluting firms on the production of green technology and the optimal policy decisions of privatization on the eco-industry under their voluntary commitments. For this, we formulate a vertical structure consisting of a downstream polluting industry and an upstream mixed eco-industry where private and public eco-firms produce emission abatement goods. The results show a U-shaped non-monotone relationship between environmental damage and the optimal degree of privatization, that is, welfare-maximizing public ownership is full nationalization or full or partial privatization, depending on the environmental damage. It supports that the government should have large ownership of partially privatized eco-firms for environmental protection, especially when environmental damage is serious.

This study conducts a comparative analysis of selected emissions trading systems (ETS) by examining them in terms of cost efficiency and jurisdictional authority overlap. Findings show that, the selected allowances markets generally exhibit cost inefficiency as manifested by price volatility. It is also found that ETS environmental jurisdictional overlaps are largely caused by the overly centralized environmental policy regulation. Literature review indicates that practical approaches to mitigating price volatility and jurisdictional authority problems include, among others, linking of ETS jurisdictions as exemplified by the linked California-Quebec ETS, integration of allowances markets, switching from emission-based taxation to consumption-based taxation, and development of the derivatives markets. Streamlining and delegation of environmental laws and judicial reviews are some of the efforts that could help mitigate jurisdictional overlap disputes.

This study examines the welfare implications of allowing border carbon adjustments (BCAs) in a globalized economy characterized by international trade and cross-border pollution (CBP). The model predicts that adopting BCAs is a weakly dominant strategy and global welfare is maximized when at least one country adopts BCAs in the presence of CBP, such as global warming. This is because adopting BCAs induces other countries to raise their domestic emission tax rates without concerns such as the excessive shrinkage of domestic production and aggravation of CBP.

In today’s technological landscape, marked by continuous flow of data, it is difficult to think of data in terms of property rights, based on ownership. This is because data principals are almost always excluded from this ownership right and associated gains. With a specific focus on the Indian context, this paper analyses the framing of right to informational privacy and the issues associated with the same. It then goes on to suggest, the framing of this right using the option theory of legal entitlements instead of as a property right. The paper acknowledges the limitations of this theory, however emphasises that this theory is crucial to engage in a discourse which signifies a shift from associating data with property rights. It also has practical utility to arrive at more economically efficient models which take into consideration the data principal’s right as well as the need for technological innovation.

Robo-advisors in China improved rapidly at beginning due to low market access standards and limited financial regulations. Since 2016, regulators worked out with various measures to promote the industry. However, statistics proved robo-advisory industry in China turned out to be less prosperous after that. Though it may result from complex reasons, one of which turns out to be a side effect of financial supervision. The research figures out risks for robo-advisors to breach compliance requirements and the dilemmas they are facing. Chinese regulators apply a financial inclusive strategy and penetrative supervision, but it impedes innovation to some extents. Judicialization of supervision is another problem. To solve this deadlock, making products more abundant may be the first step, and further legal steps should be adopted, such as advocating technology-driven regulatory innovation, making clear fiduciary duties, facilitating accurate supervision and risks prediction, and establishing a comprehensive regulatory structure.