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Recycling and Environmental Externalities: Should Recycling Be Subsidized?
[Recyclage et externalités environnementales : Faut-il subventionner les activités de récupération recyclage ?]

Author

Listed:
  • Jean de Beir

    (EPEE - Centre d'Etudes des Politiques Economiques - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne)

  • Mouez Fodha

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Guillaume Girmens

    (EPEE - Centre d'Etudes des Politiques Economiques - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne)

Abstract

This paper considers recycling in a general equilibrium model. It is shown that recycling should be subsidized if recycling costs are high, as an incentive to recycle all of the available waste. This tax incentive should vanish if recycling is profitable enough. In this case, recycling should even be taxed, in order to make the competitive equilibrium be an optimal allocation. We conclude also that, if recycling is efficient enough, it allows to internalize environmental externalities. In this case, recycling replaces a tax instrument.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean de Beir & Mouez Fodha & Guillaume Girmens, 2007. "Recycling and Environmental Externalities: Should Recycling Be Subsidized? [Recyclage et externalités environnementales : Faut-il subventionner les activités de récupération recyclage ?]," Post-Print halshs-00144632, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00144632
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00144632
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Don Fullerton & Wenbo Wu, 2002. "Policies for Green Design," Chapters, in: Don Fullerton & Thomas C. Kinnaman (ed.), The Economics of Household Garbage and Recycling Behavior, chapter 5, pages 102-119, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Rafael Lusky, 1976. "A Model of Recycling and Pollution Control," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 9(1), pages 91-101, February.
    3. Marini Giancarlo & Scaramozzino Pasquale, 1995. "Overlapping Generations and Environmental Control," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 64-77, July.
    4. Choe, Chongwoo & Fraser, Iain, 1999. "An Economic Analysis of Household Waste Management," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 234-246, September.
    5. Palmer, Karen & Walls, Margaret, 1997. "Optimal policies for solid waste disposal Taxes, subsidies, and standards," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 193-205, August.
    6. Keeler Andrew G. & Renkow Mitch, 1994. "Haul Trash or Haul Ash: Energy Recovery as a Component of Local Solid Waste Management," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 205-217, November.
    7. Valerie Y. Suslow, 1986. "Estimating Monopoly Behavior with Competitive Recycling: An Application to Alcoa," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(3), pages 389-403, Autumn.
    8. Swan, Peter L, 1980. "Alcoa: The Influence of Recycling on Monopoly Power," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(1), pages 76-99, February.
    9. Grant, Darren, 1999. "Recycling and market power: A more general model and re-evaluation of the evidence1," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 59-80, January.
    10. Solow, Robert M, 1986. " On the Intergenerational Allocation of Natural Resources," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(1), pages 141-149.
    11. Martin, Robert E, 1982. "Monopoly Power and the Recycling of Raw Materials," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 405-419, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Loukil, Faten & Rouached, Lamia, 2012. "Modeling packaging waste policy instruments and recycling in the MENA region," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 141-152.
    2. John Baffoe-Bonnie & Fidel Ezeala-Harrison, 2023. "Analysis of Optimal Solid Waste Recycling Policy: Evidence from U.S. Using Panel Data," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 13(3), pages 1-2.
    3. Karima AFIF & Bocar Samba BA & Eugénie JOLTREAU, 2024. "Tax-subsidy schemes for recycling when quantity and quality of waste matter," Working Papers 2024.02, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Overlapping generations model; recycling sector; environmental externalities; tax policy; Modèle à générations imbriquées; secteur du recyclage; externalités environnementales; politique fiscale;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

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