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Environmental accidents under moral hazard and limited firm liability

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  • Jon Strand

Abstract

We study optimal government policy when firms' operations involve a risk of a large environmental accident, firms do not have sufficient assets to cover such costs, and the risk is affected by firms' efforts which are unobservable to outsiders. When firms' profits and government revenues have equal weights in the social welfare function, a first best can be implemented and requires that the firm be subsidized heavily when operating with no accident, and all its assets confiscated in the event of an accident. With a lower weight on firm profits the solution is always second best, with lower subsidies to the firm, and a firm effort lower than at the first-best solution. When firm investments affect both the required accident-preventing effort for given risk and the work effort required for a given output, the first best never involves specific investment subsidies, while a second-best solution generally always does. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1994

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  • Jon Strand, 1994. "Environmental accidents under moral hazard and limited firm liability," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 4(5), pages 495-509, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:4:y:1994:i:5:p:495-509
    DOI: 10.1007/BF00691925
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    1. Anthony Heyes, 1996. "Optimal taxation of flow pollutants when firms may also inflict catastrophic environmental damage," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 7(1), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Jakob Eberl & Darko Jus, 2012. "Evaluating policies to attain the optimal exposure to nuclear risk," RSCAS Working Papers 2012/50, European University Institute.
    3. Laffont, Jean-Jacques, 1995. "Regulation, moral hazard and insurance of environmental risks," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 319-336, November.
    4. Eberl, Jakob & Jus, Darko, 2012. "The year of the cat: Taxing nuclear risk with the help of capital markets," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 364-373.
    5. Strand, Jon, 1999. "Efficient environmental taxation under moral hazard," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 73-88, March.
    6. Daiki Kishishita & Susumu Sato, 2021. "Optimal risk regulation of monopolists with subjective risk assessment," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 251-279, June.
    7. Katrin Millock & David Zilberman, 2006. "Collective penalties and inducement of self-reporting," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00118778, HAL.
    8. Grajzl, Peter & Baniak, Andrzej, 2009. "Industry self-regulation, subversion of public institutions, and social control of torts," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 360-374, December.
    9. Katrin Millock & David Zilberman, 2006. "Collective penalties and inducement of self-reporting," Post-Print halshs-00118778, HAL.
    10. Thomas Aronsson & Kenneth Backlund & Karl-Gustaf Löfgren, 1998. "Nuclear Power, Externalities and Non-Standard Pigouvian Taxes," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 11(2), pages 177-195, March.
    11. van 't Veld, Klaas & Hutchinson, Emma, 2009. "Excessive spending by firms to avoid accidents: Is it a concern in practice?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 324-335, December.

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