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Pigouvian Taxation in a Ramsey World

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  • Boadway, Robin
  • Tremblay, Jean-Francois

Abstract

This paper studies the optimal Pigouvian tax for correcting pollution when the government also uses distortionary taxes to raise revenues. When preferences are quasilinear in leisure and additive, the Pigovian tax can be separated from the Ramsey revenue-raising tax. We characterize the relationship between the Pigouvian tax and marginal social damages in a variety of circumstances. In a setting with homogeneous households, the Pigouvian tax exceeds marginal damages if goods have inelastic demands, and vice versa. When households are heterogeneous so taxes can be redistributive, the Pigouvian tax gives more weight to damages suffered by low-income persons. The analysis is extended to allow for costly abatement. In general corrective taxes have to be applied to both emissions and output of the polluting good.

Suggested Citation

  • Boadway, Robin & Tremblay, Jean-Francois, 2008. "Pigouvian Taxation in a Ramsey World," Queen's Economics Department Working Papers 273643, Queen's University - Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:quedwp:273643
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.273643
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Helmuth Cremer & Firouz Gahvari & Norbert Ladoux, 2001. "Second‐Best Pollution Taxes and the Structure of Preferences," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 68(2), pages 258-280, October.
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    6. Cremer, Helmuth & Gahvari, Firouz, 2001. "Second-best taxation of emissions and polluting goods," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 169-197, May.
    7. Helmuth Cremer & Firouz Gahvari & Norbert Ladoux, 2001. "Second-Best Pollution Taxes and the Structure of Preferences," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 68(2), pages 258-280, October.
    8. Auerbach, Alan J. & Hines, James Jr., 2002. "Taxation and economic efficiency," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 21, pages 1347-1421, Elsevier.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Bas (B.) Jacobs & Rick (F.) van der Ploeg, 2017. "Should Pollution Taxes Be Targeted At Income Redistribution?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 17-070/VI, Tinbergen Institute.
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    5. William Jaeger, 2011. "The Welfare Effects of Environmental Taxation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 49(1), pages 101-119, May.

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    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation

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