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Global carbon price asymmetry

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  • Ritz, R.

Abstract

This paper studies a social planner who chooses countries' carbon prices so as to maximize global welfare. Product markets are characterized by firm heterogeneity, market power, and international trade. Because of the market-power distortion, the planner's optimal policy is second-best. The main insight is that optimal carbon prices may be highly asymmetric: zero in some countries and above the social cost of carbon in countries with relatively dirty production. This result obtains even though a uniform global carbon price is always successful at reducing countries' emissions. Competition policy that mitigates market power may enable stronger and more balanced climate action.

Suggested Citation

  • Ritz, R., 2021. "Global carbon price asymmetry," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2145, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:cam:camdae:2145
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chichilnisky, Graciela & Heal, Geoffrey, 1994. "Who should abate carbon emissions? : An international viewpoint," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 443-449, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Junbo & Ma, Zhenyu & Fan, Xiayang, 2023. "We are all in the same boat: The welfare and carbon abatement effects of the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism," MPRA Paper 118978, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Shiyi Wu & Rui Niu, 2024. "Development of carbon finance in China based on the hybrid MCDM method," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Carbon leakage; carbon pricing; imperfect competition; international trade; second best;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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