This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

The Incidence of Pollution Control Policies

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Ian W.H. Parry
Hilary Sigman
Margaret Walls
Roberton C. Williams III

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

This paper reviews theoretical and empirical literature on the household distribution of the costs and benefits of pollution control policies, and ways of integrating distributional issues into environmental cost/benefit analysis. Most studies find that policy costs fall disproportionately on poorer groups, though this is less pronounced when lifetime income is used, and policies affect prices of inputs used pervasively across the economy. The policy instrument itself is also critical; freely allocated emission permits may hurt the poor the most, as they transfer income to shareholders via scarcity rents created by higher prices, while emissions taxes offer opportunities for progressive revenue recycling. And although low-income households appear to bear a disproportionate share of environmental risks, policies that reduce risks are not always progressive, for example, they may alter property values in ways that benefit the wealthy. The review concludes by noting a number of areas where future research is badly needed.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w11438.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: Access to the full text is generally limited to series subscribers, however if the top level domain of the client browser is in a developing country or transition economy free access is provided. More information about subscriptions and free access is available at http://www.nber.org/wwphelp.html.

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 11438.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Jun 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11438

Note: PE EEE
Contact details of provider:
Postal: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
Phone: 617-868-3900
Email:
Web page: http://www.nber.org
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Cropper, Maureen L & Oates, Wallace E, 1992. "Environmental Economics: A Survey," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 30(2), pages 675-740, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Azar, Christian & Sterner, Thomas, 1996. "Discounting and distributional considerations in the context of global warming," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 169-184, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Severin Borenstein & James B. Bushnell & Frank A. Wolak, 2002. "Measuring Market Inefficiencies in California's Restructured Wholesale Electricity Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1376-1405, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Poterba, James M, 1989. "Lifetime Incidence and the Distributional Burden of Excise Taxes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(2), pages 325-30, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Bowland, Bradley J. & Beghin, John C., 2001. "Robust estimates of value of a statistical life for developing economies," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 385-396, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. West, Sarah E., 2004. "Distributional effects of alternative vehicle pollution control policies," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3-4), pages 735-757, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Kenneth Y. Chay and Michael Greenstone, 2005. "Does Air Quality Matter? Evidence from the Housing Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(2), pages 376-424, April.
    Other versions:
  8. Gray, Wayne B. & Shadbegian, R.J.Ronald J., 2004. "'Optimal' pollution abatement--whose benefits matter, and how much?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 510-534, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Debra Israel & Arik Levinson, 2004. "Willingness to Pay for Environmental Quality: Testable Empirical Implications of the Growth and Environment Literature," Contributions to Economic Analysis & Policy, Berkeley Electronic Press, vol. 3(1), pages 1254-1254. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Cornwell, Antonia & Creedy, John, 1997. "Measuring the Welfare Effects of Tax Changes Using the LES: An Application to a Carbon Tax," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 589-613.
  11. James M. Poterba, 1991. "Is the Gasoline Tax Regressive?," NBER Working Papers 3578, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Mayeres, Inge & Proost, Stef, 2001. "Marginal tax reform, externalities and income distribution," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 343-363, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Louis Kaplow, 2004. "On the (Ir)Relevance of Distribution and Labor Supply Distortion to Government Policy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 18(4), pages 159-175, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Wier, Mette & Birr-Pedersen, Katja & Jacobsen, Henrik Klinge & Klok, Jacob, 2005. "Are CO2 taxes regressive? Evidence from the Danish experience," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 239-251, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Brajer, Victor & Hall, Jane V, 1992. "Recent Evidence on the Distribution of Air Pollution Effects," Contemporary Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(2), pages 63-71, April.
  16. Stina Hökby & Tore Söderqvist, 2003. "Elasticities of Demand and Willingness to Pay for Environmental Services in Sweden," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 26(3), pages 361-383, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Antonio M. Bento & Lawrence H. Goulder & Emeric Henry & Mark R. Jacobsen & Roger H. von Haefen, 2005. "Distributional and Efficiency Impacts of Gasoline Taxes: An Econometrically Based Multi-market Study," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 282-287, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Nicholas S. Souleles, 1999. "The Response of Household Consumption to Income Tax Refunds," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(4), pages 947-958, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Dorfman, Robert, 1977. "Incidence of the Benefits and Costs of Environmental Programs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(1), pages 333-40, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Gianessi, Leonard P & Peskin, Henry M & Wolff, Edward, 1979. "The Distributional Effects of Uniform Air Pollution Policy in the United States," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 93(2), pages 281-301, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Udo Ebert, 2003. "Environmental Goods and the Distribution of Income," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 25(4), pages 435-459, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  22. W. Kip Viscusi & Joseph E. Aldy, 2003. "The Value of a Statistical Life: A Critical Review of Market Estimates throughout the World," NBER Working Papers 9487, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  23. Werner Antweiler & Brian R. Copeland & M. Scott Taylor, 2001. "Is Free Trade Good for the Environment?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 877-908, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  24. Bengt Kristrom & Pere Riera, 1996. "Is the income elasticity of environmental improvements less than one?," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 7(1), pages 45-55, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  25. Mayeres, Inge & Proost, Stef, 1997. " Optimal Tax and Public Investment Rules for Congestion Type of Externalities," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 99(2), pages 261-79, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  26. Collins, Robert A., 1977. "The distributive effects of Public Law 92-500," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 344-354, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  27. Zeldes, Stephen P, 1989. "Consumption and Liquidity Constraints: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(2), pages 305-46, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  28. Slesnick, Daniel T, 1994. "Consumption, Needs and Inequality," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 35(3), pages 677-703, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  29. James T. Hamilton, 1993. "Politics and Social Costs: Estimating the Impact of Collective Action on Hazardous Waste Facilities," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 24(1), pages 101-125, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  30. Parry, Ian W. H., 2004. "Are emissions permits regressive?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 364-387, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  31. Brooks, Nancy & Sethi, Rajiv, 1997. "The Distribution of Pollution: Community Characteristics and Exposure to Air Toxics," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 233-250, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  32. Harrison, David Jr. & Rubinfeld, Daniel L., 1978. "The distribution of benefits from improvements in urban air quality," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 313-332, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  33. Souleles, Nicholas S., 2002. "Consumer response to the Reagan tax cuts," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 99-120, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  34. Don Fullerton & Gilbert E. Metcalf, 2002. "Tax Incidence," NBER Working Papers 8829, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  35. Brannlund, Runar & Nordstrom, Jonas, 2004. "Carbon tax simulations using a household demand model," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 211-233, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  36. Gruber, Jon & Saez, Emmanuel, 2002. "The elasticity of taxable income: evidence and implications," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 1-32, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  37. Holger Sieg & V. Kerry Smith & H. Spencer Banzhaf & Randy Walsh, 2004. "Estimating The General Equilibrium Benefits Of Large Changes In Spatially Delineated Public Goods," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 45(4), pages 1047-1077, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  38. Ostro, Bart D., 1981. "The distributive effects of public law 92-500," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 196-198, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  39. Stevens, Brandt & Rose, Adam, 2002. "A Dynamic Analysis of the Marketable Permits Approach to Global Warming Policy: A Comparison of Spatial and Temporal Flexibility," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 45-69, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  40. Blomquist, Glenn C & Berger, Mark C & Hoehn, John P, 1988. "New Estimates of Quality of Life in Urban Areas," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(1), pages 89-107, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  41. Robison, H David, 1985. "Who Pays for Industrial Pollution Abatement?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 67(4), pages 702-06, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  42. Michael Ash & T. Robert Fetter, 2004. "Who Lives on the Wrong Side of the Environmental Tracks? Evidence from the EPA's Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators Model," Social Science Quarterly, The Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 85(2), pages 441-462. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  43. Ahmad, Ehtisham & Stern, Nicholas, 1984. "The theory of reform and indian indirect taxes," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 259-298, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  44. Cremer, Helmuth & Gahvari, Firouz & Ladoux, Norbert, 1998. "Externalities and optimal taxation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 343-364, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  45. Cremer, Helmuth & Gahvari, Firouz & Ladoux, Norbert, 2003. "Environmental taxes with heterogeneous consumers: an application to energy consumption in France," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(12), pages 2791-2815, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  46. West, Sarah E. & Williams, R.C.Roberton III, 2004. "Estimates from a consumer demand system: implications for the incidence of environmental taxes," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 535-558, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  47. Roback, Jennifer, 1982. "Wages, Rents, and the Quality of Life," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 90(6), pages 1257-78, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  48. Samuel Fankhauser & Richard Tol & DAVID Pearce, 1997. "The Aggregation of Climate Change Damages: a Welfare Theoretic Approach," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 10(3), pages 249-266, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  49. Willig, Robert D, 1976. "Consumer's Surplus without Apology," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(4), pages 589-97, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Matthew Riddle & James Boyce, 2007. "Cap and Dividend: How to Curb Global Warming while Protecting the Incomes of American Families," Working Papers wp150, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Use the JEL tree to browse through the database by subfields.

This page was last updated on 2008-8-27.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.