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Water Pollution Taxes: A Good Idea Doomed to Failure?

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  • Boyd, James

Abstract

Water pollution taxes, or effluent fees, have long been advocated by environmental economists as a regulatory approach to cost effectively achieve water quality improvements. The article reviews the arguments in favor of taxes and traces the history of the idea in U.S. policy debates. Particular attention is given to the institutional challenges presented by a tax system and its application in watershed contexts where transport phenomena are important. The article also addresses the question of why effluent taxes are so rarely seen in practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Boyd, James, 2003. "Water Pollution Taxes: A Good Idea Doomed to Failure?," Discussion Papers 10611, Resources for the Future.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:rffdps:10611
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.10611
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Martin L. Weitzman, 1974. "Prices vs. Quantities," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 41(4), pages 477-491.
    2. Susan Rose-Ackerman, 1973. "Effluent Charges: A Critique," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 6(4), pages 512-528, November.
    3. JunJie Wu & Bruce Babcock, 2001. "Spatial Heterogeneity and the Choice of Instruments to Control Nonpoint Pollution," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 18(2), pages 173-192, February.
    4. Ronald C. Griffin & Daniel W. Bromley, 1982. "Agricultural Runoff as a Nonpoint Externality: A Theoretical Development," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 64(3), pages 547-552.
    5. Thomas Alban, 1995. "Regulating Pollution under Asymmetric Information: The Case of Industrial Wastewater Treatment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 357-373, May.
    6. Hans Th. A. Bressers, 1988. "A Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Incentives And Directives: The Case Of Dutch Water Quality Policy," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 7(3), pages 500-518, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lan , Le & Iftekhar, MD Sayed & Fogarty, James & Schilizzi, Steven, 2020. "Cost of uniform “cut”: Management of declining groundwater in the presence of environmental damages," Working Papers 307434, University of Western Australia, School of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    2. Sheila M. Olmstead, 2010. "The Economics of Water Quality," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 4(1), pages 44-62, Winter.
    3. James Shortle, 2017. "Policy Nook: “Economic Incentives for Water Quality Protection”," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 3(02), pages 1-11, April.
    4. Lori Bennear & Robert Stavins, 2007. "Second-best theory and the use of multiple policy instruments," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 37(1), pages 111-129, May.
    5. Ian W.H. Parry & Mr. John Norregaard & Mr. Dirk Heine, 2012. "Environmental Tax Reform: Principles from Theory and Practice to Date," IMF Working Papers 2012/180, International Monetary Fund.
    6. James Shortle & Richard D. Horan, 2013. "Policy Instruments for Water Quality Protection," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 5(1), pages 111-138, June.
    7. James Shortle & Richard D. Horan, 2017. "Nutrient Pollution: A Wicked Challenge for Economic Instruments," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 3(02), pages 1-39, April.
    8. Ni, Debing & Wang, Yuntong, 2007. "Sharing a polluted river," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 176-186, July.
    9. Weixin Yang & Lingguang Li, 2017. "Efficiency Evaluation and Policy Analysis of Industrial Wastewater Control in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-18, August.

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