Prof. Dr. Alfred Endres

Photo: Hans-Jürgen Flach

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Institutional Affiliation

  • Prof. Alfred Endres is the scientific director of the research center.
  • Until 31.07.2018: Faculty of Economics, holder of the Chair of Economics, esp. economic theory
  • 01.08.2018 to 31.07.2021: Senior Advisor in the “Energy, Environment & Sustainability” research center
  • Since 01.08.2021: Director of the “Energy, Environment & Sustainability” research center

Research Interests

(in the fields covered by the research center)

  • Cooperative solutions to global environmental problems
    If each state were to simply make autonomous decisions about its emissions of global pollutants, the result would be an emission level (“Nash equilibrium”) that would be too high when measured against the criteria of welfare economics (“global optimum”) and ecology (“Earth’s pollution limits”). This is where international environmental treaties offer a solution. However, given a number of pervasive free-rider problems, it is difficult to draft them in an effective (“compatibility of incentives”) manner. We are exploring options that make cooperative solutions more attractive to individual states.
  • Environmental policy and progress in environmental technology
    In environmental economics, environmental policy instruments are traditionally judged primarily in terms of their efficiency. However, the selection and design of these instruments can also create incentives for inducing progress in environmental technology. We study the “dynamic incentive effect” of different designs for emissions taxes, emissions allowances, and environmental liability law. This analysis is carried out in respect of national and international situations. The latter design leads to interesting synergies with the research project on global environmental governance mentioned above.
  • The economic theory of environmental liability law
    In the legal literature, liability law is predominantly portrayed as an instrument for settling claims for damage compensation. From an economic perspective, on the other hand, its preventive function is paramount. Under certain ideal typical conditions, the preventive effect of different designs of liability law (fault liability and strict liability) is equivalent and optimal. (This is a variant of the Coase theorem) When more realistic conditions prevail, however, this no longer applies. By modeling different frameworks, we explore a differentiated profile of the preventative properties of different liability rules.

  • (in the fields covered by the research center)

    • Endres, A./Rübbelke, D. (2022): Umweltökonomie, Stuttgart (Kohlhammer), 5th edition
    • Endres, A./Friehe, T./Rundshagen, B. (2020): Diffusion and Adoption of Advanced Emission Abatement Technology Induced by Permit Trading, in: Journal of Public Economic Theory, Vol. 22, No.5, pp. 1313–1337.
    • Endres, A./Radke, V. (2018): Economics for Environmental Studies: A Strategic Guide to Micro- and Macroeconomics, 2nd Ed., Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: https://www.springer.com/de/book/9783662548264.
    • Endres, A./Rundshagen, B. (2017): Spreading the Green Around the World – How the Permit Allocation Affects Technology Diffusion and Welfare, in: Strategic Behavior and the Environment, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 249–287: https://www.nowpublishers.com/article/Details/SBE-0069.
    • Endres, A./Friehe, T. (2015): The Compensation Regime in Liability Law: Incentives to Curb Environmental Harm, ex ante and ex post, in: Environmental and Resource Economics, Vol. 62, No. 1, pp. 105–123: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10640-014-9817-5.
    • Endres, A./Friehe, T./Rundshagen, B. (2015): Environmental Liability Law and R&D Subsidies: Results on the Screening of Firms and the Use of Uniform Policy, in: Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 521-541: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10018-015-0103-8?wt_mc=internal.event.1.SEM.ArticleAuthorAssignedToIssue.
    • Endres, A./Friehe, T./Rundshagen, B. (2015): It´s all in the Mix! – Internalizing Externalities with R&D Subsidies and Environmental Liability, in: Social Choice and Welfare, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 151–178: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00355-014-0826-7.

  • The European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists has published a special issue of its journal Environmental and Resource Economics “in Honour of Alfred Endres.” Part I: Vol. 62, No. 4 (Dec. 2015), Part II: Vol. 65, No. 1 (Sept. 2016).

E/E/S Research Center | 08.04.2024