1. Department of Economics, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155-6722, USA 2. CREM, University of Rennes I, 35042 Rennes Cedex 7, France 3. Toulouse School of Economics, 31015 Toulouse Cedex 6, France
Many countries are promoting biofuels as a substitute for scarce oil. This paper develops a dynamic model of land allocation between food and energy and shows how the model can be calibrated using standard optimization techniques. Some possible implications of the trade-offs between food and energy are discussed. Specifically, we show that the effect of mandates is mainly felt through increased land conversion, which increases indirect carbon emissions. Crude oil prices do not decrease significantly because of leakages.
