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Asymmetric information, signaling and environmental taxes in oligopoly

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  • Antelo, Manel
  • Loureiro, Maria L.

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of signaling on environmental taxation in a two-period oligopoly model in which each firm privately knows whether its technology is clean or dirty, while third parties (the rival firms and the regulator) have only a subjective perception about this fact. Consequently, there are both horizontal and vertical asymmetric information, and each firm can strategically manipulate both, the competitor's and the regulator's priors. In this context, we find that each firm wishes to be perceived as a technologically clean firm in period 2 whenever the regulator's ecological conscience is sufficiently high. We also show that taxes under symmetric information are always positive, but under asymmetric information and signaling they may be negative (subsidies) and lower or greater than in the symmetric information case, depending on the ecological conscience of the regulator and the probability of firms being dirty. Finally, taxes are below environmental marginal damage, both under symmetric and asymmetric information, and signaling reinforces such under-taxation.

Suggested Citation

  • Antelo, Manel & Loureiro, Maria L., 2009. "Asymmetric information, signaling and environmental taxes in oligopoly," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 1430-1440, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:68:y:2009:i:5:p:1430-1440
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    2. Moner-Colonques, R. & Rubio, S., 2015. "The timing of environmental policy in a duopolistic market," Economia Agraria y Recursos Naturales, Spanish Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 15(01).
    3. Dietrich Earnhart & Sarah Jacobson & Yusuke Kuwayama & Richard T. Woodward, 2023. "Discretionary Exemptions from Environmental Regulation: Flexibility for Good or for Ill," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 99(2), pages 203-221.
    4. Rupayan Pal, 2012. "Delegation And Emission Tax In A Differentiated Oligopoly," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 80(6), pages 650-670, December.
    5. Sengupta, Aditi, 2012. "Investment in cleaner technology and signaling distortions in a market with green consumers," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 468-480.
    6. Xue Yang & Yuandi Wang & Die Hu & Yongqiang Gao, 2018. "How industry peers improve your sustainable development? The role of listed firms in environmental strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1313-1333, December.
    7. Ouchida, Yasunori & Goto, Daisaku, 2016. "Environmental research joint ventures and time-consistent emission tax: Endogenous choice of R&D formation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 179-188.
    8. Rupayan Pal & Bibhas Saha, 2011. "Environmental outcomes in a model of mixed duopoly," University of East Anglia Applied and Financial Economics Working Paper Series 030, School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    9. Rupayan Pal & Bibhas Saha, 2010. "Does partial privatization improve the environment," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2010-018, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    10. Gaurav Bhattacharya, 2019. "Location decisions of industries in the presence of transportation costs and environmental regulations: empirical evidence from India," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 21(1), pages 24-53, June.
    11. Jihad C. Elnaboulsi & W. Daher & Yigit Saglam, 2015. "On the Social Value of Disclosed Information and Environmental Regulation," Working Papers 2015-14, CRESE.
    12. Rupayan Pal, 2009. "Delegation and Emission Tax in a Differentiated Oligopoly," Working Papers id:2263, eSocialSciences.
    13. Catola, Marco & D'Alessandro, Simone, 2020. "Market competition, lobbying influence and environmental externalities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    14. Elnaboulsi, J.C. & Daher, W. & Sağlam, Y., 2018. "On the social value of publicly disclosed information and environmental regulation," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1-22.
    15. Aditi Sengupta, 2010. "Signaling environmental quality to green consumers and the incentive to invest in cleaner technology: Effect of environmental regulation," Departmental Working Papers 1001, Southern Methodist University, Department of Economics.
    16. Marie-Laure Cabon-Dhersin & Natacha Raffin, 2023. "Cooperation in Green R&D and Environmental Policies: Taxes or Standards," Working Papers hal-03610541, HAL.
    17. Jihad C. Elnaboulsi, 2015. "Environmental Regulation and Policy Design: The Impact of the Regulator?s Ecological Conscience on the Tax Setting Process," Working Papers 2015-11, CRESE.
    18. Sengupta Aditi, 2017. "Information Acquisition and Disclosure of Environmental Risk," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 17(2), pages 1-9, April.

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