• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.67-83
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• 2018

We have hypothesized that nuclear risk is significantly inversely related to the distance from residences to nuclear power plants and that the level of life satisfaction of residents therefore increases with the distance. We empirically explore the relationship between Ulsan citizens' life satisfaction levels and the distance between their residences and the Kori and Wolsong nuclear power plants (NPP) based on the life satisfaction approach (LSA). The dataset we used covers only Ulsan citizens from the biennial Ulsan Statistics on Citizen's Living Condition and Consciousness of 2014 and 2016. Controlling for micro-variables such as education, work satisfaction, gender, marital status, and expenditures, we found a statistically significant relationship between life satisfaction and the distance between the residences and the nuclear power plants. Nuclear negative externalities including (i) health and environmental impact, (ii) radioactive waste disposal, and (iii) the effect of severe accidents can be quantified in terms of LS units and monetary units. We were able to calculate the monetary value of NPP externalities at $277 per kilometer of distance for Kori and $280 per kilometer of distance for Wolsong at constant 2015 prices. These estimates are quite different from the traditional estimates made with the contingent valuation method, whereas they are similar to the findings of LSA studies abroad. Hence, the need to adopt the LSA in South Korea and policy implications are demonstrated.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.1657-1663
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• 2022

This study uses data from 1970 to 2016 to analyze the effect of nuclear energy use on CO₂ emissions and attempts to validate the EKC hypothesis using the Fourier Autoregressive Distributive Lag model in India for the first time. Because of India's rapidly rising population, the environment is being severely strained. However, with 22 operational nuclear reactors, India boasts tremendous nuclear energy potential to cut down on CO₂ emissions. The EKC is validated in India as the significant coefficients of GDP and GDP.² The short-run estimates also suggest that most environmental externalities are corrected within a year. Given the findings, some policy recommendations abound. The negative statistically significant coefficient of nuclear energy consumption is an indication that nuclear power expansion is essential to achieving clean and sustainable growth as a policy goal. Also, policymakers should enact new environmental laws that support the expansion and responsible use of nuclear energy as it is cleaner than fossil fuels and reduces the cost and over-dependence on oil, which ultimately leads to higher economic growth in the long run. Future research should consider studying the nonlinearities in the nuclear energy-CO₂ emissions nexus as the current study is examined in the linear sense.