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Green Tax Reform and Competitiveness

Author

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  • Koskela, Erkki
  • Schöb, Ronnie
  • Sinn, Hans-Werner

Abstract

This paper develops a model of a small open economy that produces an export good with domestic labour and imported energy and is stuck in an unemployment situation resulting from an excessive fixed net-of-tax wage rate. We study a revenue-neutral green tax reform that substitutes energy for wage taxes. A moderate green tax reform will boost employment, improve welfare and increase the economy's competitiveness. The driving force behind these results is the technological substitution process that a green tax reform will bring about by inducing the producers to substitute labour for energy as factors of production. The resulting reduction in unemployment is welfare increasing since energy, which the country has to buy at its true national opportunity cost, is replaced with labour, whose price is above its social opportunity cost. As long as the labour tax rate exceeds the resource tax rate, a revenue-neutral green-tax reform will reduce the domestic firms' unit cost of production and hence increase international competitiveness and output of the economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Koskela, Erkki & Schöb, Ronnie & Sinn, Hans-Werner, 1999. "Green Tax Reform and Competitiveness," CEPR Discussion Papers 2089, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:2089
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. de Bovenberg, A Lans & Mooij, Ruud A, 1994. "Environmental Levies and Distortionary Taxation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 1085-1089, September.
    2. Alesina, Alberto & Perotti, Roberto, 1997. "The Welfare State and Competitiveness," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(5), pages 921-939, December.
    3. Erkki Koskela & Ronnie Schöb & Hans-Werner Sinn, 1998. "Pollution, Factor Taxation and Unemployment," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 5(3), pages 379-396, July.
    4. Koskela, Erkki & Schob, Ronnie, 1999. "Alleviating unemployment:: The case for green tax reforms," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(9), pages 1723-1746, October.
    5. Wolfram Richter & Kerstin Schneider, 2001. "Taxing Mobile Capital with Labor Market Imperfections," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 8(3), pages 245-262, May.
    6. Bucovetsky, Sam & Wilson, John Douglas, 1991. "Tax competition with two tax instruments," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 333-350, November.
    7. Bovenberg, A Lans & de Mooij, Ruud A, 1997. "Environmental Levies and Distortionary Taxation: Reply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(1), pages 252-253, March.
    8. Perotti, Roberto & Alesina, Alberto, 1997. "The Welfare State and Competitiveness," Scholarly Articles 4553027, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Max Albert & Jürgen Meckl, 2001. "Green Tax Reform and Two-Component Unemployment: Double Dividend or Double Loss?," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 157(2), pages 265-265, June.
    2. repec:eee:eneeco:v:67:y:2017:i:c:p:242-254 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Christoph Böhringer & Andreas Löschel & Heinz Welsch, 2008. "Environmental Taxation and Induced Structural Change in an Open Economy: The Role of Market Structure," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 9, pages 17-40, February.
    4. Thomas Aronsson, 2005. "Environmental Policy, Efficient Taxation and Unemployment," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 12(2), pages 131-144, March.
    5. repec:eee:enepol:v:108:y:2017:i:c:p:617-623 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Reto Schleiniger & Stefan Felder, "undated". "Fossile Energiepolitik jenseits von Kyoto," IEW - Working Papers 078, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
    7. O'Ryan, Raúl & de Miguel, Carlos J. & Miller, Sebastian & Munasinghe, Mohan, 2005. "Computable general equilibrium model analysis of economywide cross effects of social and environmental policies in Chile," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(4), pages 447-472, September.
    8. Stefan Boeters, 2004. "Green Tax Reform and Employment: The Interaction of Profit and Factor Taxes," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 60(2), pages 222-222, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Competitiveness; green tax reform; Involuntary Unemployment;

    JEL classification:

    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

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