Multiple pollutants, co-benefits, and suboptimal environmental policies

Don Fullerton () and Daniel H. Karney

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2018, vol. 87, issue C, 52-71

Abstract: In our analytical general equilibrium model, polluting inputs can be substitutes or complements. We study a tax increase on one pollutant where the other faces a tax or permit policy. Our solutions highlight key parameters and welfare effects with gains from abatement plus positive or negative co-benefits from other pollutants in the covered and uncovered sectors. We demonstrate several ways taxes and permits differ. First, the change in taxed pollutant depends on whether the other pollutant faces a tax or permit policy. Also, only with a tax on the other pollutant can a co-benefit arise. The sign of co-benefits depends on the sign of cross-price elasticities and on whether the other pollutant's price is above or below marginal damages. Finally, the other pollutant's tax or permit policy also affects emissions in the uncovered sector (leakage). In a numerical illustration of carbon tax in U.S. electricity, we calculate emissions of CO2 and SO2 in both sectors. For plausible parameters, co-benefits are larger than direct

Keywords: H23; Q3; Q4; Q5; Climate policy; Carbon tax; Pollution permits; Co-benefits; Second best; General equilibrium; Welfare effects; Leakage; Sulfur dioxide; Greenhouse gas emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0095069617305764
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:87:y:2018:i:c:p:52-71

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2017.08.003

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management is currently edited by M.A. Cole, A. Lange, D.J. Phaneuf, D. Popp, M.J. Roberts, M.D. Smith, C. Timmins, Q. Weninger and A.J. Yates

More articles in Journal of Environmental Economics and Management from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().