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Pollution Markets with Imperfectly Observed Emissions

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  • Montero, J-P.

Abstract

I study the advantages of pollution permit markets over traditional standard regulations when the regulator has incomplete information on firms’ emissions and costs of production and abatement (e.g., air pollution in large cities). Because the regulator only observes each firm’s abatement technology but neither its emissions nor its output, there are cases in which standards can lead to lower emissions and, hence, welfare dominate permits. If permits are optimally combined with standards, in many cases this hybrid policy converges to the permits-alone policy but (almost) never to the standards-alone policy.

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File URL: http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/electricity/publications/wp/ep56.pdf
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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge in its series Cambridge Working Papers in Economics with number 0456.

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Length: 25
Date of creation: Oct 2004
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cam:camdae:0456

Note: CMI, IO
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Web page: http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/index.htm

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Keywords: asymmetric information; imperfect monitoring; pollution markets; permits;

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References

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  2. Kwerel, Evan, 1977. "To Tell the Truth: Imperfect Information and Optimal Pollution Control," Review of Economic Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 595-601, October.
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  7. Ellerman,A. Denny & Joskow,Paul L. & Schmalensee,Richard & Montero,Juan-Pablo & Bailey,Elizabeth M., 2000. "Markets for Clean Air," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521660839.
    • Ellerman,A. Denny & Joskow,Paul L. & Schmalensee,Richard & Montero,Juan-Pablo & Bailey,Elizabeth M., 2005. "Markets for Clean Air," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521023894.
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  11. Juan Pablo Montero & José Miguel Sánchez & Ricardo Katz, 2000. "A Market-Based Environmental Policy Experiment in Chile," Documentos de Trabajo 192, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
  12. Richard Schmalensee & Paul L. Joskow & A. Denny Ellerman & Juan Pablo Montero & Elizabeth M. Bailey, 1998. "An Interim Evaluation of Sulfur Dioxide Emissions Trading," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 53-68, Summer.
  13. Roberts, Marc J. & Spence, Michael, 1976. "Effluent charges and licenses under uncertainty," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(3-4), pages 193-208.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Pasquale Scandizzo & Odin Knudsen, 2012. "Risk management and regulation compliance with tradable permits under dynamic uncertainty," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 127-157, February.
  2. Shouyong Shi & Zhe Li, 2010. "Emission Tax or Standard: The Roles of Productivity Dispersion and Abatement," 2010 Meeting Papers 587, Society for Economic Dynamics.
  3. Juan-Pablo Montero, 2008. "A Simple Auction Mechanism for the Optimal Allocation of the Commons," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(1), pages 496-518, March.
  4. Juan-Pablo Montero, 2004. "Markets for environmental protection: design and performance incomplete enforcement," Estudios de Economia, University of Chile, Department of Economics, vol. 31(1 Year 20), pages 79-99, June.
  5. James Alm & H. Spencer Banzhaf, 2012. "Designing Economic Instruments For The Environment In A Decentralized Fiscal System," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 177-202, 04.
  6. Brent Hueth & Tigran Melkonyan, 2009. "Standards and the regulation of environmental risk," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 219-246, December.
  7. Montero, J-P., 2004. "Tradable Permits with Incomplete Monitoring: Evidence from Santiago’s Particulate Permits Program," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0457, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
  8. Matveenko, V., 2010. "Stimulating Mechanisms in Ecologically Motivated Regulation: Will Ecological Policies in Transition and Developing Countries Become Efficient?," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, issue 8, pages 10-34.
  9. Zhe Li & Shouyong Shi, 2010. "Emission Tax or Standard? The Role of Productivity Dispersion," Working Papers tecipa-409, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
  10. Caffera, Marcelo, 2011. "The use of economic instruments for pollution control in Latin America: lessons for future policy design," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(03), pages 247-273, June.
  11. Christian Salas, 2010. "Evaluating Public Policies with High Frequency Data: Evidence for Driving Restrictions in Mexico City Revisited," Documentos de Trabajo 374, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..

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