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Nonpoint Source Pollution Taxes and Excessive Tax Burden

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  • Larry Karp

Abstract

If a regulator is unable to measure firms’ individual emissions, an ambient tax can be used to achieve the socially desired level of pollution. With this tax, each firm pays a unit tax on aggregate emissions. In order for the tax to be effective, firms must recognize that their decisions affect aggregate emissions. When firms behave strategically with respect to the tax-setting regulator, under plausible circumstances their tax burden is lower under an ambient tax, relative to the tax which charges firms on the basis of individual emissions. Firms may prefer the case where the regulator is unable to observe individual firm emissions, even if this asymmetric information causes the regulator to tax each firm on the basis of aggregate emissions. Copyright Springer 2005

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  • Larry Karp, 2005. "Nonpoint Source Pollution Taxes and Excessive Tax Burden," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 31(2), pages 229-251, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:31:y:2005:i:2:p:229-251
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-005-1772-8
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    2. Jordan F. Suter & Kathleen Segerson & Christian A. Vossler & Gregory L. Poe, 2010. "Voluntary-Threat Approaches to Reduce Ambient Water Pollution," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 92(4), pages 1195-1213.
    3. Anastasios Xepapadeas, 2011. "The Economics of Non-Point-Source Pollution," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 355-373, October.
    4. La Nauze, Andrea & Mezzetti, Claudio, 2019. "Dynamic incentive regulation of diffuse pollution," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 101-124.
    5. Ollivier, Hélène, 2012. "Growth, deforestation and the efficiency of the REDD mechanism," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 312-327.
    6. J. Walter Milon, 2019. "The polluter pays principle and Everglades restoration," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 9(1), pages 67-81, March.
    7. Stergios Athanassoglou & Glenn Sheriff & Tobias Siegfried & Woonghee Huh, 2012. "Optimal Mechanisms for Heterogeneous Multi-Cell Aquifers," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 52(2), pages 265-291, June.
    8. Lars Gårn Hansen, 2015. "A Montero auction mechanism for regulating unobserved use of the commons," IFRO Working Paper 2015/07, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    9. J. Contreras & J. B. Krawczyk & J. Zuccollo, 2016. "Economics of collective monitoring: a study of environmentally constrained electricity generators," Computational Management Science, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 349-369, July.
    10. Vossler, Christian A. & Suter, Jordan F. & Poe, Gregory L., 2013. "Experimental evidence on dynamic pollution tax policies," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 101-115.
    11. Tsur, Yacov & de Gorter, Harry, 2012. "Dynamic regulation of nonpoint source pollution when the number of emitters is large," Discussion Papers 122124, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Agricultural Economics and Management.
    12. Athanassoglou, Stergios, 2010. "Dynamic nonpoint-source pollution control policy: Ambient transfers and uncertainty," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2494-2509, December.
    13. Hansen, Lars Gårn, 2020. "A Montero payment mechanism for regulating non-point pollution emissions," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    14. Michail Tsagris & Vangelis Tzouvelekas, 2022. "Nitrate leaching and efficiency measurement in intensive farming systems: A parametric by‐production technology approach," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(4), pages 633-647, July.
    15. Hansen, Lars Garn & Romstad, Eirik, 2007. "Non-point source regulation -- A self-reporting mechanism," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(3-4), pages 529-537, May.
    16. Cason, Timothy N. & Gangadharan, Lata, 2013. "Empowering neighbors versus imposing regulations: An experimental analysis of pollution reduction schemes," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 469-484.
    17. Suter, Jordan F. & Vossler, Christian A. & Poe, Gregory L. & Schulze, William D. & Segerson, Kathleen, 2006. "An Experimental Exploration of a Voluntary Mechanism to Reduce Nonpoint Source Water Pollution with a Background Threat of Regulation," 2006 Annual meeting, July 23-26, Long Beach, CA 21416, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    18. Krawczyk, Jacek B., 2005. "Coupled constraint Nash equilibria in environmental games," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 157-181, June.
    19. Suter, Jordan F. & Vossler, Christian A. & Poe, Gregory L., 2009. "Ambient-based pollution mechanisms: A comparison of homogeneous and heterogeneous groups of emitters," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1883-1892, April.
    20. James Shortle & Richard D. Horan, 2013. "Policy Instruments for Water Quality Protection," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 5(1), pages 111-138, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    ambient tax; asymmetric information; differential games; moral hazard; nonpoint source pollution; D82; H20; H40; Q20;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
    • Q20 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - General

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