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Environmental Taxation and Redistribution Concerns

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  • Rafael Aigner

    (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn and University of Cologne)

Abstract

This paper shows how the optimal level of Pigouvian taxation is influenced by distributive concerns. With second-best instruments, a higher level of income redistribution calls for a lower level of Pigouvian taxation. More redistributionimplies that tax collection via the income tax creates higher distortions, which in turn makes revenues from Pigouvian taxation more valuable. Contrary to naive intuition, this reduces the optimal level of Pigouvian taxation. The social planner trades off environmental tax revenues against the marginal social damage and accepts a lower tax if the welfare created per dollar is higher. The paper also shows that the relation between levels of redistribution and Pigouvian taxation is reversed in first-best. It thus highlights that second-best Pigouvian taxes are very different from their first-best counterpart – despite apparently identical first order conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Rafael Aigner, 2011. "Environmental Taxation and Redistribution Concerns," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2011_17, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, revised Jun 2013.
    • Handle: RePEc:mpg:wpaper:2011_17
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    Cited by:

    1. Alberto Gago & Xavier Labandeira & Xiral López Otero, 2014. "A Panorama on Energy Taxes and Green Tax Reforms," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 208(1), pages 145-190, March.
    2. Bas Jacobs & Rick van der Ploeg, 2017. "Should Pollution Taxes be Targeted at Income Redistribution?," CESifo Working Paper Series 6599, CESifo.
    3. Klenert, David & Mattauch, Linus & Combet, Emmanuel & Edenhofer, Ottmar & Hepburn, Cameron & Rafaty, Ryan & Stern, Nicholas, 2017. "Making Carbon Pricing Work," MPRA Paper 80943, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Rafael Aigner, 2014. "Environmental Taxation and Redistribution Concerns," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 70(2), pages 249-277, June.
    5. Li, Zhengda & Zheng, Chengxin & Liu, Aimin & Yang, Yang & Yuan, Xiaoling, 2022. "Environmental taxes, green subsidies, and cleaner production willingness: Evidence from China's publicly traded companies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    6. Djula Borozan, 2018. "Efficiency of Energy Taxes and the Validity of the Residential Electricity Environmental Kuznets Curve in the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-16, July.
    7. Jacobs, Bas & van der Ploeg, Frederick, 2019. "Redistribution and pollution taxes with non-linear Engel curves," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 198-226.
    8. Alessandro Balestrino, 2014. "Large Taxes, Status Goods, and Piracy," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 70(1), pages 97-115, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Optimal Income Taxation; Pigouvian taxation; comparative statics; externalities; second-best;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

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