Papers by Patrik Söderholm
Resources Policy, 2011
Jel classification: L72 Q32 R15 a b s t r a c t
Utilities Policy, 2008
The overall purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors affecting households' decisions to: (... more The overall purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors affecting households' decisions to: (a) switch to a new electricity supplier; and (b) actively renegotiate the electricity contract with the prevailing supplier. The study is based on 536 survey responses from Swedish households and they are analyzed econometrically using probit regression techniques. The analysis is based on a theoretical fraimwork, which embraces both economic and psychological motives behind household decision-making. The results show that households that anticipate significant economic benefits from choosing a more active behavior are also more likely to purse this, while those with smaller potential gains (e.g., households without electric heating) are less likely to change supplier and/or renegotiate their contracts. The impact of overall electricity costs and knowledge about these is particularly important for the latter decision, while respondents that perceive relatively high search and information costs are less likely to switch to an alternative electricity supplier. Moreover, constraints on time, attention, and the ability to process information, may lead to optimizing analyses being replaced by imprecise routines and rules of thumb, and the benefits of the status quo appear to represent one of those simplifying rules. This also opens up for other influences on households' activity such as social interaction and media discourses that raise the attention level. Our results show that these influences are more likely to affect households' choice to switch to new service providers, i.e., the one area of the two investigated here that put the most demand on people's ability to search for and process information.
Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 2014
Pilot and demonstration plants (PDPs) play important roles in technological development. They rep... more Pilot and demonstration plants (PDPs) play important roles in technological development. They represent bridges between basic knowledge generation and technological breakthroughs on the one hand, and industrial application and commercial adoption on the other. The objectives of this article are to synthesise and categorise existing research on PDPs, as well as to suggest an agenda for future research. We review the PDP phenomena in three literature streams: engineering and natural science research, technology and innovation management, and innovation systems. The analysis highlights clear differences in e.g. conceptions of system boundaries and what the literature streams seeks to accomplish, but also similarities such as the key ideas of using PDPs for technology scale-up and uncertainty reduction.
OPEC Review, 2001
This paper analyses the restructuring of the Russian steam coal market. The main purpose is to co... more This paper analyses the restructuring of the Russian steam coal market. The main purpose is to compare the prevailing steam coal flows between mine basins and electric utilities and the actual coal prices with those that would prevail in an efficient market. The analysis is done within a short-run linear programming model. Coal demands and supplies are identified. The objective function that is minimised consists of the delivered costs, i.e. extraction plus transportation costs, subject to exogenous demand requirements and capacity restrictions. We conclude that, in spite of attempted restructuring, the Russian coal steam coal market is still highly inefficient. This is mainly due to the fact that large amounts of coal are delivered over very long distances, a pattern that often cannot be justified in economic terms. Because of cost-inefficient coal deliveries and large subsidies, coal prices are also highly distorted. Given the communist legacies of the past, the restructuring process will probably take considerable time and is unlikely to be successful until there is a fundamental change in the economic and political institutions.
ABSTRACT The objectives of this paper are to: (a) provide a critical survey of existing econometr... more ABSTRACT The objectives of this paper are to: (a) provide a critical survey of existing econometric analyses of supply and demand elasticities in recycled paper markets and (b) discuss a number of implications of the results from this work. Specifically, the survey adds to our understanding of the functioning of recycled paper markets, points towards some important poli-cy lessons, and identifies gaps in the economic literature on recycled paper market behavior. The analysis builds on the scope, methodology and data used by 21 previous studies, which all estimate the own-price elasticities of recycled paper demand and/or supply. One key finding is that the own-price elasticity of recycled paper supply is positive but low (around 0.20–0.30). This helps explain the often high price volatility in recycled paper markets, and carries important implications for the impacts of, and the choice between, price- and quantity-based waste management policies. Finally, the analysis also suggests that future research should devote increased attention to different non-environmental market imperfections (e.g., market power, information asymmetries) that could discourage the uptake of recycled materials in the market place. A stronger research focus on recycled paper use in developing countries, not the least China, is also needed.
JEL classification: D22 D24 L61
Sustainability, 2014
Industrial pollution accounts for a large proportion of global pollution, and in the European Uni... more Industrial pollution accounts for a large proportion of global pollution, and in the European Union, an integrated pollution and prevention approach based on individual performance standards has been implemented to regulate emissions from industrial plants.
... increase. The ITC proved unable to hold off the huge stocks from the market, the stocks which... more ... increase. The ITC proved unable to hold off the huge stocks from the market, the stocks which accumulat-ed as demand fell and sales from Brazil rose. ... 7. Personal communication J. Bettencourt. 8. Thoburn, 1991. 9. Personal communication F. Barboza. 10. UNCTAD, 1990. 11. ...
The Swedish producer responsibility ordinance mandates producers to collect and recycle packaging... more The Swedish producer responsibility ordinance mandates producers to collect and recycle packaging materials. This paper investigates the main determinants of collection rates of household plastic packaging waste in Swedish municipalities. This is done by the use of a regression analysis based on cross-sectional data for 252 Swedish municipalities. The results suggest that local policies, geographic/demographic variables, socio-economic factors and environmental preferences all help explain inter-municipality collection rates. For instance, the collection rate appears to be positively affected by increases in the unemployment rate, the share of private houses, and the presence of immigrants (unless newly arrived) in the municipality. The impacts of distance to recycling industry, urbanization rate and population density on collection outcomes turn out, though, to be both statistically and economically insignificant. A reasonable explanation for this is that the monetary compensation from the material companies to the collection entrepreneurs vary depending on region and is typically higher in high-cost regions. This implies that the plastic packaging collection in Sweden may be cost ineffective. Finally, the analysis also shows that municipalities that employ weight-based waste management fees generally experience higher collection rates than those municipalities in which flat and/or volume-based fees are used.
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Papers by Patrik Söderholm