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On the redistributive effects of Germany’s feed-in tariff

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  • Peter Grösche
  • Carsten Schröder

Abstract

This article assesses the redistributive effects of a key element of German climate policy, the promotion of renewables in the electricity generation mix through the provision of a feed-in tariff. The tariff shapes the distribution of households’ disposable incomes by charging a levy that is proportional to household electricity consumption and by transferring financial resources to households who are feeding green electricity into the public grid. Our study builds on representative household survey data, providing information on various socio-demographics, household electricity consumption, and ownership of photovoltaic facilities. The redistributive effects of the feed-in tariff are evaluated by means of inequality indices. All the indices indicate that Germany’s feed-in tariff is regressive. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Grösche & Carsten Schröder, 2014. "On the redistributive effects of Germany’s feed-in tariff," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1339-1383, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:46:y:2014:i:4:p:1339-1383
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-013-0728-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Dr. Ulrike Lehr & Dr. Thomas Drosdowski, 2013. "Soziale Verteilungswirkungen der EEG-Umlage," GWS Discussion Paper Series 13-3, GWS - Institute of Economic Structures Research.
    2. Vona, Francesco, 2023. "Managing the distributional effects of climate policies: A narrow path to a just transition," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    3. Andor, Mark A. & Frondel, Manuel & Schmidt, Christoph M. & Simora, Michael & Sommer, Stephan, 2015. "Klima- und Energiepolitik in Deutschland: Dissens und Konsens," RWI Materialien 91, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung.
    4. Jacksohn, Anke & Tovar Reaños, Miguel Angel & Pothen, Frank & Rehdanz, Katrin, 2023. "Trends in household demand and greenhouse gas footprints in Germany: Evidence from microdata of the last 20 years," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    5. Nikodinoska, Dragana & Schröder, Carsten, 2016. "On the emissions–inequality and emissions–welfare trade-offs in energy taxation: Evidence on the German car fuels tax," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 206-233.
    6. Pothen, Frank & Tovar Reaños, Miguel Angel, 2018. "The Distribution of Material Footprints in Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 237-251.
    7. Dr. Ulrike Lehr & Dr. Thomas Drosdowski, 2015. "Soziale Verteilungswirkungen der EEG-Umlage unter Berücksichtigung von Einkommensklassen," GWS Discussion Paper Series 15-1, GWS - Institute of Economic Structures Research.
    8. Manuel Frondel & Stephan Sommer, 2014. "Diskussionspapier: Energiekostenbelastung privater Haushalte – Das EEG als sozialpolitische Zeitbombe?," RWI Materialien, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, pages 23, 06.
    9. Nikodinoska, Dragana & Schröder, Carsten, 2015. "On the emissions-inequality trade-off in energy taxation: Evidence on the German car fuel tax," Discussion Papers 2015/6, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    10. Farrell, Niall & Humes, Harry, 2022. "Diminishing deadweight loss through energy subsidy cost recovery," Papers WP727, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    11. Verde, Stefano F. & Pazienza, Maria Grazia, 2016. "Energy and climate hand-in-hand: Financing RES-E support with carbon revenues," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 234-244.
    12. Schick, Christoph & Hufendiek, Kai, 2023. "Assessment of the regulatory framework in view of effectiveness and distributional effects in the context of small-scale PV—The German experience," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    13. repec:zbw:rwimat:081 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Gawel, Erik & Korte, Klaas & Tews, Kerstin, 2015. "Energiewende im Wunderland: Mythen zur Sozialverträglichkeit der Förderung erneuerbarer Energien durch das EEG," UFZ Discussion Papers 2/2015, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    15. Kröger, Mats & Longmuir, Maximilian & Neuhoff, Karsten & Schütze, Franziska, 2023. "The price of natural gas dependency: Price shocks, inequality, and public policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    16. Philipp Andreas Gunkel & Febin Kachirayil & Claire-Marie Bergaentzl'e & Russell McKenna & Dogan Keles & Henrik Klinge Jacobsen, 2023. "Uniform taxation of electricity: incentives for flexibility and cost redistribution among household categories," Papers 2306.11566, arXiv.org.
    17. Gunkel, Philipp Andreas & Kachirayil, Febin & Bergaentzlé, Claire-Marie & McKenna, Russell & Keles, Dogan & Jacobsen, Henrik Klinge, 2023. "Uniform taxation of electricity: incentives for flexibility and cost redistribution among household categories," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PB).
    18. Schulte, Isabella & Heindl, Peter, 2017. "Price and income elasticities of residential energy demand in Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 512-528.
    19. Stephane Hallegatte & Mook Bangalore & Laura Bonzanigo & Marianne Fay & Tamaro Kane & Ulf Narloch & Julie Rozenberg & David Treguer & Adrien Vogt-Schilb, 2016. "Shock Waves," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 22787, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income distribution; Redistribution; Tax incidence ; Renewable resources; Energy policy; Feed-in tariff; Germany; D12; D31; H22; H23; Q21; Q48;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • Q27 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Issues in International Trade
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy

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