In Chapter II I analyze eco-labeling in the tourism industry, specifically the impact of the Blue Flag label for marinas and beaches on prices of marina slip rentals, weekly sailboat charter prices and hotel accommodation prices. The principal findings include that Blue Flag certified marinas appear to enjoy an average premium between 6.6% and 22% for their daily slip rental prices, between 40% and 49% for their monthly slip rental prices, and 23% for their yearly slip rental prices. Within the sailboat charter sector, vessels whose home marina is awarded the Blue Flag on average carry a price premium between 14% and 20% on a weekly sailboat rental. When it comes to hotel accommodation, hotels managing a Blue Flag certified beach enjoy a price premium between 45% and 270%.;In Chapter III I employ a dataset on the global frequency of climate-change-related natural disasters to explain the probability of the start and occurrence, in a given year, of civil war and civil war durations during the last half of the 20th century. Extreme cold events are found to have a measurable positive effect on the probability of civil war starting in the affected countries, previous years' extreme heat events have a positive effect on the probability of a civil war occurring in a given year, and droughts have a positive effect on civil war duration. These findings can be used by policymakers as they contemplate climate change mitigation policies.;In Chapter IV I investigate the determinants of ratification delay of a major oil pollution international environmental agreement, MARPOL. Importantly, I analyze the impact of oil spills, as well as various country characteristics, on the time a country takes to ratify MARPOL. The major contribution lies in the examination of impacts of environmental pollution events on international political decision making. I find that the amount of oil spilled decreases the time to ratify MARPOL. This is the first study that seeks to address this issue in a quantitative fashion. The results should inform policymakers by giving them insight into relevant determinants of legislative delay in ratifying treaties.
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