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A Corporate Finance Perspective on Environmental Policy

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  • Heider, Florian
  • Inderst, Roman

Abstract

This paper examines optimal enviromental policy when external financing is costly for firms. We introduce emission externalities and industry equilibrium in the Holmström and Tirole (1997) workhorse model of corporate finance. While a (Pigouvian) cap-and-trading system optimally governs both firms' abatement activities (internal emission margin) and industry size (external emission margin) when firms have sufficient funds on their own, external financing constraints introduce a wedge between these two objectives. When a sector is financially constrained in the aggregate, the optimal cap is strictly above the Pigouvian benchmark and emission allowances should be allocated below market prices. When a sector is not financially constrained in the aggregate, a cap that is below the Pigiouvian benchmark optimally shifts market share to less polluting firms and, moreover, there should be no "grandfathering" of emission allowances. With financial constraints and heterogeneity across firms or sectors, a uniform policy, such as a single cap-and-trade system, is typically not optimal.

Suggested Citation

  • Heider, Florian & Inderst, Roman, 2022. "A Corporate Finance Perspective on Environmental Policy," CEPR Discussion Papers 16878, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16878
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    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Allen, Franklin & Barbalau, Adelina, 2024. "Security design: A review," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    3. Giovanardi, Francesco & Kaldorf, Matthias, 2024. "Climate change and the macroeconomics of bank capital regulation," Discussion Papers 13/2024, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    4. Inderst, Roman & Opp, Marcus M., 2025. "Sustainable finance versus environmental policy: Does greenwashing justify a taxonomy for sustainable investments?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    5. Döttling, Robin & Rola-Janicka, Magdalena, 2025. "Too Levered for Pigou: Carbon pricing, financial constraints, and leverage regulation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    6. Allen,Franklin & Barbalau,Adelina & Zeni,Federica, 2023. "Reducing Carbon using Regulatory and Financial Market Tools," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10539, The World Bank.
    7. Döttling, Robin & Rola-Janicka, Magdalena, 2023. "Too levered for Pigou: carbon pricing, financial constraints, and leverage regulation," Working Paper Series 2812, European Central Bank.
    8. Inderst, Roman & Opp, Markus, 2022. "Socially optimal sustainability standards with non-consequentialist ("warm glow") investors," SAFE Working Paper Series 346, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    9. Kaldorf, Matthias & Shi, Mengjie, 2024. "Do firm credit constraints impair climate policy?," Discussion Papers 29/2024, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    10. Giovanardi, Francesco & Kaldorf, Matthias, 2024. "Climate Change and the Macroeconomics of Bank Capital Regulation," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302379, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    11. repec:osf:osfxxx:ds7bx_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Kai Zhang & Xubei Lian & Leonard F. S. Wang, 2024. "Green finance, loan commitment, and environmental corporate social responsibility in a differentiated duopoly," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(1), pages 394-413, January.
    13. Christian Haas & Karol Kempa, 2023. "Low-Carbon Investment and Credit Rationing," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 86(1), pages 109-145, October.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

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