How markets can help society adapt to climate change
Environmental and labor economist R. Jisung Park co-authored a new paper reporting that carefully designed markets and supportive public policy can help individuals and communities more effectively approach climate adaptation.
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When carefully designed and supported by thoughtful public policy, markets can play a meaningful role in helping communities effectively and efficiently manage the risks of climate change, according to a new article co-authored by R. Jisung Park. Park is an assistant professor at Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) with a secondary appointment at the Wharton School.
R. Jisung Park is an assistant professor at Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice.
(Image: Courtesy of SP2)
The article, published in Science (Policy Forum), draws on the growing body of economic research on climate adaptation, defined by the authors as any decision made in response to the climate, ranging from individual actions to large-scale public infrastructure projects.
“Carefully designed and regulated markets can, in many cases, encourage the economy to adapt to the complex and widespread impacts of the current climate and future climate change,” Park and coauthors write. But the article also emphasizes that government policy strongly shapes how, and how well, markets function.
The authors find that certain policy interventions can make markets function more efficiently, while others may inadvertently hinder markets’ potential to enable climate adaptation. Reassessing potentially constraining or counterproductive policies can make markets more effective and better incentivize adaptation.
Government action can also help create new markets that deliver social benefits and support innovation. “Facilitating market formation is a powerful way to prepare key segments of the economy for climate change,” the authors explain.
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