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Economy-wide computable general equilibrium (CGE) models are considered the workhorse of policy analysis (Jones, 1965). Initially developed to explore international trade policy, applications now span the diversity of critical policy issues. CGE has been increasingly applied to environmental issues where integrated economic-environmental modeling captures the effects of policy on both economic and environmental indicators. The first half of this presentation will demonstrate the application of the integrated framework to key policy questions on forest policy and biofuels in Brazil, climate change and food security in Bangladesh, and water resources, agriculture and the environment in Australia. With the 2014 publication of the first international standard for Economic-Environmental Accounting (UN’s SEEA), the potential power of the integrated economic-environmental approach increases enormously. Incorporating data from SEEA into this modeling framework will enable tracking of economic impacts, and use and income derived from environmental resources, as well as impacts on the stocks of environmental resources. This advancement will enable us to explore how policy affects not only income and growth, but the underlying wealth (natural capital, human capital and manufactured capital) of regions and nations. In addition, the SEEA will reduce startup costs of applied policy analysis, increasing the timeliness and relevance of integrated economic-environmental modeling to evidence-based policy making. The second half presentation provides an overview of work being pioneered through IDB’s BIO Program which involves an integrated economic-environmental modeling framework based on the SEEA and includes most recent advances in CGE modeling.

About Dr. Onil Banerjee

Dr. Onil Banerjee is a Natural Resource Economist with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the leading source of multi-lateral financing for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Onil is engaged in projects throughout the LAC region with an emphasis on integrated economic-environmental modeling and impact analysis. Prior to joining the IDB, Onil was International Development Economist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia's National Science Agency. In Onil’s work with CSIRO he explored domestic policy issues such as the need to balance water resource use for agriculture and ecosystem service supply. In South Asia, Onil was involved in providing advice on climate change impacts on agriculture and the economy in Bangladesh, and opportunities for enhancing food security in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basin in South Asia. Onil was awarded the prestigious Alumni Fellowship at the University of Florida where he earned a PhD in Natural Resource Economics and Policy.