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Environmental protection, public finance requirements and the timing of emission reductions

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  • Agliardi, Elettra
  • Sereno, Luigi

Abstract

The effects of four environmental policy options for the reduction of pollution emissions, i.e. taxes, emission standards, auctioned permits and freely allocated permits, are analyzed. The setup is a real option model where the amount of emissions is determined by solving the firm's profit maximization problem under each policy instrument. The regulator solves an optimal stopping problem in order to find the critical threshold for policy adoptions taking into account revenues from taxes and auctioned permits and government spending. In this framework we find the ranking of the alternative policy options in terms of their adoption lag and social welfare. We show that when the output demand is elastic, emission standards are preferred to freely allocated permits. Taxes and auctioned permits are always equivalent in terms of their adoption lag and social welfare, and also equivalent to emission standards when the regulator redistributes revenues.

Suggested Citation

  • Agliardi, Elettra & Sereno, Luigi, 2012. "Environmental protection, public finance requirements and the timing of emission reductions," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(6), pages 715-739, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:endeec:v:17:y:2012:i:06:p:715-739_00
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    Cited by:

    1. E. Agliardi & L. Sereno, 2012. "On the optimal timing of switching from non-renewable to renewable resources: dirty vs clean energy sources and the relative efficiency of generators," Working Papers wp855, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    2. Ohler, Adrienne M., 2014. "Behavior of the firm under rate-of-return regulation with two capital inputs," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 61-69.
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    4. Enrico Saltari & Giuseppe Travaglini, 2017. "Optimal waste control with abatement capital," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 27(5), pages 1157-1180, November.
    5. Enrico Saltari & Giuseppe Travaglini, 2013. "Optimal Waste Control with Abatement and Productive Capital Stocks," Working Papers 1301, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Department of Economics, Society & Politics - Scientific Committee - L. Stefanini & G. Travaglini, revised 2013.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

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