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Using Taxes to Meet an Emission Target

Author

Listed:
  • Robert I. Harris
  • William A. Pizer
Abstract
A sizeable number of papers beginning with Roberts and Spence (1976) have studied the use of price floors and ceilings (or “collars”) to manage prices in tradable permit markets. In contrast, economists have only recently begun examining polices to manage quantities under a pollution tax. Importantly, it can be difficult to know how to evaluate these policies, as papers dating back to Pizer (2002) suggest welfare is maximized by not focusing on quantities in the first place. In this paper, we propose an objective function to evaluate these alternative “carbon tax policies to meet an emission target.” The objective function includes a discrete jump in marginal emission consequences at the target, where the discontinuity can be interpreted as a true benefit measure or a necessary political constraint. We parameterize these emission consequences using recent legislative proposals, coupling this function with mitigation cost estimates to define the complete objective. This objective identifies the first-best tax policy design, one that requires relatively complex adjustments to mimic a tradable permit system. Turning to simpler, practical rules, we find that such rules achieve much of the difference in expected net benefits between an ordinary, exogenous tax and the first-best tax policy design. However, the ranking among simple rules depends on the interpretation of the higher, above-target emission penalty as a political constraint or a true benefit measure. We find that making these views explicit could facilitate billions of dollars per year in welfare gains.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert I. Harris & William A. Pizer, 2020. "Using Taxes to Meet an Emission Target," NBER Working Papers 27781, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27781
    Note: EEE
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Aldy, Joseph, 2017. "Designing and Updating a US Carbon Tax in an Uncertain World," Working Paper Series rwp17-001, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    3. Schennach, Susanne M., 2000. "The Economics of Pollution Permit Banking in the Context of Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 189-210, November.
    4. William A. Pizer & Brian C. Prest, 2020. "Prices versus Quantities with Policy Updating," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 7(3), pages 483-518.
    5. Yates, Andrew J. & Cronshaw, Mark B., 2001. "Pollution Permit Markets with Intertemporal Trading and Asymmetric Information," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 104-118, July.
    6. Marc A. C. Hafstead & Roberton C. Williams, 2020. "Designing and Evaluating a U.S. Carbon Tax Adjustment Mechanism to Reduce Emissions Uncertainty," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(1), pages 95-113.
    7. Pizer, William A., 2002. "Combining price and quantity controls to mitigate global climate change," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(3), pages 409-434, September.
    8. Hyndman, Rob J. & Khandakar, Yeasmin, 2008. "Automatic Time Series Forecasting: The forecast Package for R," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 27(i03).
    9. Warwick J. McKibbin & Peter J. Wilcoxen, 1997. "A Better Way to Slow Global Climate Change," Economics and Environment Network Working Papers 9702, Australian National University, Economics and Environment Network.
    10. Gilbert E. Metcalf, 2009. "Cost Containment in Climate Change Policy: Alternative Approaches to Mitigating Price Volatility," NBER Working Papers 15125, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Richters, Oliver & Siemoneit, Andreas, 2021. "Making markets just: Reciprocity violations as key intervention points," ZOE Discussion Papers 7, ZOE. institute for future-fit economies, Bonn.
    2. Gabriel E. Lade & C.-Y. Cynthia Lin Lawell, 2021. "The Design of Renewable Fuel Mandates and Cost Containment Mechanisms," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 79(2), pages 213-247, June.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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