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Ramsey meets Thünen: the impact of land taxes on economic development and land conservation

Author

Listed:
  • Matthias Kalkuhl

    (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) gGmbH
    University of Potsdam)

  • Ottmar Edenhofer

    (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) gGmbH
    Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
    Technische Universität Berlin)

Abstract

Land taxes can increase production in the manufacturing sector and enhance land conservation at the same time, which can lead to overall macroeconomic growth. Existing research emphasizes the non-distorting properties of land taxes (when fixed factors are taxed) as well as growth-enhancing impacts (when asset portfolios are shifted to reproducible capital). This paper furthers the neoclassical perspective on land taxes by endogenizing land allocation decisions in a multi-sector growth model. Based on von Thünen’s observation, agricultural land is created from wilderness through conversion and cultivation, both of which are associated with costs. In the steady state of our general equilibrium model, land taxes not only may reduce land consumption (associated with environmental benefits) but may also affect overall economic output, while leaving wages and interest rates unaffected. When labor productivity is higher in the manufacturing than in the agricultural sector and agricultural and manufactured goods are substitutes (or the economy is open to world trade), land taxes increase aggregate economic output. There is a complex interplay of conservation policy, technological change and land taxes, depending on consumer preferences, sectoral labor productivities and openness-to-trade. Our model introduces a new perspective on land taxes in current policy debates on development, tax reforms as well as forest conservation.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthias Kalkuhl & Ottmar Edenhofer, 2017. "Ramsey meets Thünen: the impact of land taxes on economic development and land conservation," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 24(2), pages 350-380, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:itaxpf:v:24:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s10797-016-9403-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10797-016-9403-6
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    3. Vejchodská, Eliška & Barreira, Ana Paula & Auziņš, Armands & Jürgenson, Evelin & Fowles, Steven & Maliene, Vida, 2022. "Bridging land value capture with land rent narratives," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
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    5. Janoušková, Jana & Sobotovičová, Šárka, 2019. "Fiscal autonomy of municipalities in the context of land taxation in the Czech Republic," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 30-36.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Structural shift; Structural change; REDD; Henry George; Forest conservation; Sustainability; Johann Heinrich von Thünen;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models
    • O44 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Environment and Growth
    • Q32 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Exhaustible Resources and Economic Development
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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