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International audience ; Rare earth element extraction induces environmental damages and the balance problem. In this article, we show that recycling can challenge both problems in a two-period framework. We also find other results depending on the amount of scrap that can be recycled. If the recycling activity is not limited by available scrap, it does not change extraction in the first period. Environmental taxes on extracted quantities reduce extraction and favor recycling. But if the recycling is limited, the extractor reduces extraction in period one, adopting a foreclosure strategy, and environmental taxes can decrease recycling. In all cases, environmental taxes are never equal to the marginal damage from pollution, in order to take into account the recycling effect.

International audience ; Rare earth element extraction induces environmental damages and the balance problem. In this article, we show that recycling can challenge both problems in a two-period framework. We also find other results depending on the amount of scrap that can be recycled. If the recycling activity is not limited by available scrap, it does not change extraction in the first period. Environmental taxes on extracted quantities reduce extraction and favor recycling. But if the recycling is limited, the extractor reduces extraction in period one, adopting a foreclosure strategy, and environmental taxes can decrease recycling. In all cases, environmental taxes are never equal to the marginal damage from pollution, in order to take into account the recycling effect.

International audience ; Rare earth element extraction induces environmental damages and the balance problem. In this article, we show that recycling can challenge both problems in a two-period framework. We also find other results depending on the amount of scrap that can be recycled. If the recycling activity is not limited by available scrap, it does not change extraction in the first period. Environmental taxes on extracted quantities reduce extraction and favor recycling. But if the recycling is limited, the extractor reduces extraction in period one, adopting a foreclosure strategy, and environmental taxes can decrease recycling. In all cases, environmental taxes are never equal to the marginal damage from pollution, in order to take into account the recycling effect.

In this report, we focus on three important aspects of medicines in India – accessibility, quality, and affordability of drugs. The first part analyses access to drugs from two main perspectives – the accessibility of medicines via Jan Aushadhi (JA) stores and e-pharmacies. With branded generic drugs priced far higher than their unbranded generic counterparts, access to reasonably-priced drugs is limited in India. To address this, the Jan Aushadhi scheme was launched in 2008 to increase access to affordable and quality medicines. The key features of this scheme included setting up pharmaceutical stores with government support and making cheaper drugs available to consumers. Using district-level demographic and economic characteristics, we find that more JA stores are found in districts with larger proportions of urban population, higher literacy rates and a greater level of development. Despite the incentive-based nature of the scheme, which rewards store owners for the volume of business, some districts in the Northeast and Central India failed to attract any JA entrepreneurs. Lastly, with the proliferation of the internet in urban cities, we have witnessed the growth of e-pharmacies. The market share of this segment is currently small but the convenience and price discounts offered by startups in this domain are set to propel the e-pharmacy sector in the coming years. In this relatively new, innovative space, business growth has to be balanced against important regulatory needs. Without an accurate prescription validation mechanism, we could witness a rise in antibiotic resistance over time or overuse and habit formation for opioids.

New Zealanders will vote in a referendum this year on whether to legalise cannabis. They will be asked whether they approve of a draft Bill that the Government is preparing. Our work in 2016 highlighted that legalisation, combined with heavy taxation, regulation and education would be a better way to lower cannabis use than prohibition (Wilson 2016). This paper is a contribution to the debate on the details of the Bill and the policy underlying it. We update the evidence about overseas experience with legalisation and make some detailed observations on the proposed regulations.

This study aims to assess the gap between needs and "current provisions in the country," for care of the elderly. The objective is to take stock of the situation, decipher some steps in the right direction to develop a policy framework for an inclusive approach to care of the elderly.

The counter-narcotics efforts of the Philippines and Bangladesh can be successful only if a comprehensive and long-term approach is taken.

Sri Lanka's recent move to bring back capital punishment for convicted drug offenders has put a spotlight on growing narcotics related crime in the country. The government's apparent tough stance is in response to concerns that Sri Lanka is re-emerging as a transit hub for global drug trafficking networks.

The abuse of novel designer drugs is on the rise. Deadlier than conventional plant-based street drugs, these synthetic psychoactive substances are manufactured and trafficked in such a way as to avoid easy detection. Each year, novel designer drugs cause thousands of deaths globally. Synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones are two of the most commonly abused novel designer drugs, and their rapid proliferation calls for swift policy intervention. Possible countermeasures against these drugs include deploying new detection technologies, closing loopholes in the mail system, banning designer drugs outright, warning the public of their dangers and strengthening international cooperation.

Asia is ageing. The proportion of older persons, defined throughout this report as those 65 years old and over, are increasing in all Asian countries (Figure 1.1). The number of older persons in Asia will double within 20 years from 2015, except for Japan (Figure 1.2). How to sustain active ageing1 is a policy priority but inevitably the burden of long-term care for older persons will increase. The need is urgent, as the speed of ageing in Asia is much quicker than in Europe and Northern America (Figure 1.3). Japan used to be the outlier in the speed of ageing, which took only 24 years for the proportion of older persons to increase from 7% to 14%. However, now the speed of ageing in emerging countries is even quicker: in the Republic of Korea, it is 18 years; Thailand, 20 years; China, 23 years; and Viet Nam, 18 years. Since population ageing proceeds simultaneously with economic development, the former poses challenges to coping with the increasing cost of social security, such as pension or health insurance. The change in family values as well as strong internal and international migration leaves aged parents behind and alone. This will make family care more difficult and increase the demand for social care offered by the community and the government.

The Philippines is identified as one of the countries with an ageing population, as the proportion of persons aged 60 and above is at 7.4 percent in 2015 and is projected to increase to 15.9 percent by 2045. Senior citizens tend to have higher prevalence of various medical diseases and comorbidities. Moreover, they are less economically active compared to younger age groups. Thus, this projected increase in the number of senior citizens entails greater support needed in terms of health care and income security for the elderly. In response to this, the government has been enacting various legislations and implementing various social protection programs for senior citizens. Among the following are the mandatory coverage of senior citizens to PhilHealth, and retirement benefits and pension through SSS and GSIS for senior citizens previously involved in the formal economy, or through the social pension program for indigent senior citizens.

A rising share of renewables in the energy mix pushes up the average price of energy - and so does a carbon tax. However the former bolsters the accumulation of capital whereas the latter, if fully recycled, does not. Thus, in general equilibrium, the effects on growth andintertemporal welfare of these two environmental policies differ. The present article assesses and compares these effects. It relies on a computable general equilibrium model withoverlapping generations, an energy module and a public finance module. The main result is that an increasing share of renewables in the energy mix and a fully recycled carbon tax haveopposite (though limited) impacts on activity and individuals' intertemporal welfare in the long run. The recycling of a carbon tax fosters consumption and labour supply, and thusgrowth and welfare, whereas an increasing share ofrenewables does not. Results also suggest that a higher share of renewables and a recycled carbon tax trigger intergenerationalredistributive effects, with the former being relatively detrimental for young generations and the latter being pro-youth. The policy implication is that a social planner seeking to modify thestructure of the energy mix while achieving some neutrality as concerns the GDP and triggering some proyouth intergenerational equity,could usefully contemplate the joint implementation of higher quantitative targets for the future development of renewables and a carbon tax fully recycled through lower proportional taxes.

A rising share of renewables in the energy mix pushes up the average price of energy - and so does a carbon tax. However the former bolsters the accumulation of capital whereas the latter, if fully recycled, does not. Thus, in general equilibrium, the effects on growth andintertemporal welfare of these two environmental policies differ. The present article assesses and compares these effects. It relies on a computable general equilibrium model withoverlapping generations, an energy module and a public finance module. The main result is that an increasing share of renewables in the energy mix and a fully recycled carbon tax haveopposite (though limited) impacts on activity and individuals' intertemporal welfare in the long run. The recycling of a carbon tax fosters consumption and labour supply, and thusgrowth and welfare, whereas an increasing share ofrenewables does not. Results also suggest that a higher share of renewables and a recycled carbon tax trigger intergenerationalredistributive effects, with the former being relatively detrimental for young generations and the latter being pro-youth. The policy implication is that a social planner seeking to modify thestructure of the energy mix while achieving some neutrality as concerns the GDP and triggering some proyouth intergenerational equity,could usefully contemplate the joint implementation of higher quantitative targets for the future development of renewables and a carbon tax fully recycled through lower proportional taxes.

Social planners in most western countries will be facing two long-lasting challenges in the next years: energy transition and fiscal consolidation. One problem is that governments might consider that implementing an energy transition could get in the way of achieving a fiscal consolidation. If so, interrupting the energy transition in a time of fiscal consolidation would involve significant aggregate impacts on activity and intergenerational redistributive effects. This article tries to assess them empirically. It relies on an overlapping-generations framework in a general equilibrium setting, with a detailed energy module. The model is parameterized on data provided by OECD/IEA for France. Different results emerge. Renouncing to the energy transition would slightly foster the level of GDP during the next 10 to 15 years - depending on the dynamics of the prices of fossil fuels on world markets - but weigh on it more significantly afterwards (up to -1% in 2050). If the prices of fossil fuels keep increasing in the future, implementing an energy transition could have broadly the same favourable effects on the GDP level in the long run as those of a fiscal consolidation diminishing significantly public spending instead of raising taxes. In the long-run, the GDP would be maximized by implementing an energy transition and simultaneously lessening the public deficit by lowering some public expenditure, a policy that would entail an overall gain of around 1,6% of GDP in 2050. Stopping the energy transition would also bring about intergenerational issues. It would be detrimental to the intertemporal wellbeing of almost all cohorts alive in 2010. A fiscal policy with lower public expenditures and frozen tax rates may be still more favourable to young and future generations than implementing an energy transition. However, renouncing to an energy transition would annihilate most of these proyouth effects.

Social planners in most western countries will be facing two long-lasting challenges in the next years: energy transition and fiscal consolidation. One problem is that governments might consider that implementing an energy transition could get in the way of achieving a fiscal consolidation. If so, interrupting the energy transition in a time of fiscal consolidation would involve significant aggregate impacts on activity and intergenerational redistributive effects. This article tries to assess them empirically. It relies on an overlapping-generations framework in a general equilibrium setting, with a detailed energy module. The model is parameterized on data provided by OECD/IEA for France. Different results emerge. Renouncing to the energy transition would slightly foster the level of GDP during the next 10 to 15 years - depending on the dynamics of the prices of fossil fuels on world markets - but weigh on it more significantly afterwards (up to -1% in 2050). If the prices of fossil fuels keep increasing in the future, implementing an energy transition could have broadly the same favourable effects on the GDP level in the long run as those of a fiscal consolidation diminishing significantly public spending instead of raising taxes. In the long-run, the GDP would be maximized by implementing an energy transition and simultaneously lessening the public deficit by lowering some public expenditure, a policy that would entail an overall gain of around 1,6% of GDP in 2050. Stopping the energy transition would also bring about intergenerational issues. It would be detrimental to the intertemporal wellbeing of almost all cohorts alive in 2010. A fiscal policy with lower public expenditures and frozen tax rates may be still more favourable to young and future generations than implementing an energy transition. However, renouncing to an energy transition would annihilate most of these proyouth effects.