1. |
- Coria, Jessica, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Air Pollution Dynamics and the Need for Temporally Differentiated Road Pricing
- 2013
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this paper we investigate the effects of the temporal variation of pollution dispersion, traffic flows and vehicular emissions on pollution concentration and illustrate the need for temporally differentiated road pricing through an application to the case of the congestion charge in Stockholm, Sweden. By accounting explicitly for the role of pollution dispersion on optimal road pricing, we allow for a more comprehensive view of the economy-ecology interactions at stake, showing that price differentiation is an optimal response to the physical environment. Most congestion charges in place incorporate price bans to mitigate congestion. Our analysis indicates that, to ensure compliance with air quality standards, such price variations should also be a response to limited pollution dispersion.
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2. |
- Coria, Jessica, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Air pollution dynamics and the need for temporally differentiated road pricing
- 2015
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Ingår i: Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. - : Elsevier BV. - 0965-8564. ; 75, s. 178-195
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we investigate the effects of the temporal variation of pollution dispersion, traffic flows and vehicular emissions on pollution concentration and illustrate the need for temporally differentiated road pricing through an application to the case of the congestion charge in Stockholm, Sweden. By accounting explicitly for the role of pollution dispersion on optimal road pricing, we allow for a more comprehensive view of the economy– ecology interactions at stake, showing that price differentiation is an optimal response to the physical environment. Most congestion charges in place incorporate price bands to mitigate congestion. Our analysis indicates that, to ensure compliance with air quality standards, such price variations should also be a response to limited pollution dispersion.
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3. |
- Ambec, Stefan, et al.
(författare)
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Policy Spillovers in the regulation of multiple pollutants
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0095-0696 .- 1096-0449. ; 87 (2018), s. 114-134
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We analyze the interplay between policies aimed to control transboundary and local pollutants such as greenhouse gases and particulate matter. The two types of pollution interact in the abatement cost function of the polluting firms through economies or diseconomies of scope. They are regulated by distinct entities, potentially with different instruments that are designed according to some specific agenda. We show that the choice of regulatory instrument and the timing of the regulations matter for efficiency. Emissions of the local pollutant are distorted if the regulators anticipate that transboundary pollution will later be regulated through emission caps. The regulation is too stringent with diseconomies of scope, and not enough with economies of scope. In contrast, we obtain efficiency if the transboundary pollutant is regulated by emission taxes or tradable emission permits provided that the revenue from taxing emissions are redistributed to the countries in a lump-sum way and that the initial allocation of tradable emission permits is not linked to abatement costs.
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4. |
- Ambec, Stefan, et al.
(författare)
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Prices vs Quantities with Multiple Pollutants
- 2011
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We examine the choice of policy instrument price, quantity, or a mix of the two when two pollutants are regulated and firms’ abatement costs are private information. A key parameter that affects this choice is the technological externality between the abatement efforts involved, i.e., whether they are substitutes or complements. If they are complements, a mix policy instrument with a tax on one pollutant and a quota on the other is sometime preferable, even if the pollutants are identical in terms of benefits and costs of abatement. Yet, if they are substitutes, the mix policy is dominated by taxes or quotas.
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5. |
- Ambec, Stefan, et al.
(författare)
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Prices vs quantities with multiple pollutants
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0095-0696 .- 1096-0449. ; 22:1, s. 123-140
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We examine the choice of policy instruments (price, quantity or a mix of the two) when two pollutants are regulated and firms' abatement costs are private information. Whether abatement efforts are complements or substitutes is key determining the choice of policies. When pollutants are complements, a mixed policy instrument with a tax on one pollutant and a quota on another is sometimes preferable even if the pollutants are identical in terms of benefits and costs of abatement. Yet, if they are substitutes, the mixed policy is dominated by taxes or quotas
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6. |
- Ambec, Stefan, et al.
(författare)
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Strategic environmental regulation of multiple pollutants
- 2015
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We analyze the interplay between policies aimed to control global and local pollution such as greenhouse gases and particulate matter. The two types of pollution interact in the abatement cost function of the polluting firms through economies or diseconomies of scope. They are regulated by distinct entities (global versus local), potentially with different instruments that are designed according to some specific agenda. We show that the choice of regulatory instrument and the timing of the regulations matter for efficiency. Emissions of local pollution are distorted if the local regulators anticipate that global pollution will later be regulated through emission caps. The regulation is too (not enough) stringent when abatement e¤orts exhibit economies (diseconomies) of scope. In contrast, we obtain e¢ ciency if the global pollutant is regulated by tax provided that the revenues from taxing emissions are redistributed to the local communities in a lump-sum way.
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7. |
- Ambec, Stefan, et al.
(författare)
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The informational value of environmental taxes
- 2019
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We propose informational spillovers as a new rationale for the use of multiple policy instruments to mitigate a single externality. We investigate the design of a pollution standard when the firms’ abatement costs are unknown and emissions are taxed. A firm might abate pollution beyond what is required by the standard by equalizing its marginal abatement costs to the tax rate, thereby revealing information about its abatement cost. We analyze how a regulator can take advantage of this information to design the standard. In a dynamic setting, the regulator relaxes the initial standard in order to induce more information revelation, which would allow her to set a standard closer to the first best in the second period. Updating standards, though, generates a ratchet effect since the low-cost firms might strategically hide their cost by abating no more than required by the standard. We provide conditions for the separating equilibrium to hold when firms act strategically. We illustrate our theoretical results with the case of NOx regulation in Sweden. We find evidence that the firms that are taxed experience more frequent standard updates.
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8. |
- Ambec, S., et al.
(författare)
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The informational value of environmental taxes
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Public Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0047-2727. ; 199
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We propose informational spillovers as a new rationale for the use of multiple policy instruments to mitigate a single externality. We investigate the design of a pollution standard when the firms' abatement costs are unknown and emissions are taxed. A firm might abate pollution beyond what is required by the standard by equalizing its marginal abatement costs to the tax rate, thereby revealing information about its abatement cost. We analyze how a regulator can take advantage of this information to design the standard. In a dynamic setting, the regulator relaxes the initial standard in order to induce more information revelation, which would allow her to set a standard closer to the first best in the future. Updating standards, though, generates a ratchet effect since a low-cost firm might strategically hide its cost by abating no more than required by the standard. We characterize the optimal standard and its update across time depending on the firm's abatement strategy. We illustrate our theoretical results with the case of NOx regulation in Sweden. We find evidence that the firms that pay the NOx tax experience more frequent standard updates and more stringent revisions than those who are exempted. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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9. |
- Bonilla, Jorge, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Diffusion of NOx abatement technologies in Sweden
- 2014
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This paper studies how different NOx abatement technologies have diffused under the Swedish system of refunded emissions charges and analyzes the determinants of the time to adoption. The policy, under which the charge revenues are refunded back to the regulated firms in proportion to energy output, was explicitly designed to affect investment in NOx-reducing technologies. The results indicate that a higher net NOx charge liability, i.e. a reduction in tax liabilities net of the refund due to the new technology, increases the likelihood of adoption, but only for end-of-pipe post-combustion technologies. We also find some indication that market power considerations in the heat and power industry reduce the incentives to abate emissions through investment in postcombustion technologies. Adoption of post-combustion technologies and the efficiency improving technology of flue gas condensation are also more likely in the heat and power and waste incineration sectors, which is possibly explained by a large degree of public ownership in these sectors.
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10. |
- Bonilla, Jorge, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Refunded Emission Payments and Diffusion of NOx Abatement Technologies in Sweden
- 2015
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Ingår i: Ecological Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-8009. ; 116, s. 132-145
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper studies how different NOx abatement technologies have diffused under the Swedish system of refunded emission payments (REP) and analyzes the determinants of the time to adoption. The policy, under which the charge revenues are refunded back to the regulated firms in proportion to energy output, was explicitly designed to affect investment in NOx-reducing technologies. The main finding is that REP had a significant effect on the adoption of post-combustion technologies. Moreover, we also find some indications that the effects of REP have been enhanced by the existing system of individual emission standards. In particular, the effect of REP speeding up the pace of adoption of post-combustion technologies is considerably larger in those counties where stringent standards are in place.
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11. |
- Bonilla, Jorge, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Synergies and Trade-offs between Climate and Local Air Pollution: Policies in Sweden
- 2012
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this paper, we explore the synergies and tradeoffs between abatement of global and local pollution. We built a unique dataset of Swedish heat and power plants with detailed boiler-level data 2001-2009 on not only production and inputs but also emissions of CO2 and NOx. Both pollutants are subject to strict policies in Sweden. CO2 is subject to multiple levels of governance using environmental instruments such as the EU ETS and Swedish carbon taxes; NOx – as a precursor of acid rain and eutrophication – is regulated by a heavy fee. Using a quadratic directional output distance function, we characterize changes in technical efficiency as well as patterns of substitutability in response to the policies mentioned. The fact that generating units face a trade-off between the pollutants indicates a need for policy coordination.
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12. |
- Bonilla, J, et al.
(författare)
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Technical synergies and trade-offs between abatement of global and local air pollution
- 2018
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Ingår i: Environmental and Resource Economics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0924-6460 .- 1573-1502. ; 70:1, s. 191-221
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we explore the synergies and tradeoffs between abatement of global and local pollution. We build a unique dataset of Swedish combined heat and power plants with detailed boiler-level data 2001–2009 on not only production and inputs but also on emissions of CO2 and NOx. Both pollutants are regulated by strict policies in Sweden. CO2 is subject to theEuropean UnionEmissionTrading Scheme and Swedish carbon taxes;NOx— as a precursor of acid rain and eutrophication—is regulated by a heavy fee. Using a quadratic directional output distance function, we characterize changes in technical efficiency as well as patterns of substitutability in response to the policies mentioned. The fact that generating units face a trade-off between the pollutants indicates the need for policy coordination.
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13. |
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14. |
- Coria, Jessica, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Services Provision: A Tale of Confused Objectives, Mulitple Market Failures and Policy Challenges
- 2012
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Most research and funding in conservation has been oriented toward biodiversity per se. Until recently there has been little tangible effort in linking conservation to ecosystem service provision. Nevertheless, this trend seems to be changing due in part to the relative success of payment mechanisms that provide funding for the conservation of ecosystem services – defined as discrete and identifiable end-products. This paper describes the features of optimal policies to protect (i) biodiversity vs. (ii) ecosystem services and analyze to what extent the criteria in (i) and (ii) set against each other or create synergies. We also analyze how payments for ecosystem services affect the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services conservation.
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15. |
- Coria, Jessica, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Services Provision: A Tale of Confused Objectives, Multiple Market Failures and Policy Challenges
- 2014
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Ingår i: Handbook on the Economics of Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity'. - Belgium : Edward Elgar Publishing. - 978 1 78195 151 4 - 9781781951514
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In recent years, there has been a marked proliferation in the literature on economic approaches to ecosystem management, which has created a subsequent need for real understanding of the scope and the limits of the economic approaches to ecosystems and biodiversity. Within this Handbook, carefully commissioned original contributions from acknowledged experts in the field address the new concepts and their applications, identify knowledge gaps and provide authoritative recommendations.
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16. |
- Coria, Jessica, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Carbon Pricing: Transaction Costs of Emissions Trading vs. Carbon Taxes
- 2015
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this paper we empirically compare the transaction costs from monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of two environmental regulations directed to cost-efficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions: a carbon dioxide (CO2) tax and a tradable emissions system. We do this in the case of Sweden, where a set of firms are covered by both types of regulations, i.e., the Swedish CO2 tax and the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). This provides us with an excellent case study as it allows us to disentangle the costs of each regulation from other firm-specific variables that might affect the overall cost of MRV procedures. Our results indicate that the MRV costs of CO2 taxation do not depend on firms’ emissions, while they do in the case of the EU ETS. For firms of equivalent emissions’ size, the MRV costs are lower for CO2 taxation than for the EU ETS, which confirms the general view that regulating emissions upstream by means of a CO2 tax yields lower transaction costs vis-á-vis downstream regulation by means of emission trading.
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17. |
- Coria, Jessica, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Economic interests cloud hazard reductions in the European regulation of substances of very high concern
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723 .- 2041-1723. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Here we investigate how the conflicts between hazard reduction and economic interests have shaped the regulation of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) under the Authorization program of the European chemical regulation Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). Since regulation starts with listing SVHCs on the Candidate List, we analyze the relative importance of toxicological properties, economic motivations, and available scientific knowledge on the probability of inclusion on the Candidate List. We find that the most important factor in whether a substance is listed is whether it is being produced in, or imported into, the European Economic Area (EEA), with the regulators less likely to place a substance on the list if it is currently being produced or imported in the EEA. This evidence suggests that regulators have listed chemicals of secondary importance leading to lesser than anticipated hazard reductions, either because production and imports had already ceased before the listing, or because the compound has never been produced or imported in the EEA at all.
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18. |
- Coria, Jessica, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Ecotourism and the Development of Indigenous Communities: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- 2011
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A large part of the literature analyzing the links between biodiversity conservation and community development assumes that nature-based tourism managed by indigenous communities will result not only in conservation of natural resources but also in increased development. In practice, indigenous communities have often failed to implement successful ecotourism projects due to a combination of factors, including isolation and a lack of financial resources, management skills, and infrastructure. Based on a review of experiences, we analyze the complex interaction among the factors shaping the success and failure of ecotourism experiences in indigenous communities, and we stress the need for a better approach to indigenous-based ecotourism. Moreover, use of complementary economics instruments and marketing of so-called charismatic species may be crucial elements for maximizing revenues of the ecotourism activities.
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19. |
- Coria, Jessica, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Ecotourism and the development of indigenous communities: The good, the bad, and the ugly
- 2012
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Ingår i: Ecological Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-8009. ; 73:15, s. 47-55
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A large part of the literature analyzing the links between biodiversity conservation and community development assumes that nature-based tourism managed by indigenous communities will result not only in conservation of natural resources but also in increased development. In practice, ecotourism has often failed to deliver the expected benefits to indigenous communities due to a combination of factors, including shortages in the endowments of human, financial and social capital within the community, lack of mechanisms for a fair distribution of the economic benefits of ecotourism, and land insecurity. Based on a review of experiences, we analyze the complex interaction among the factors shaping the success and failure of ecotourism experiences in indigenous communities, and we stress the need for a better approach to enhance the indigenous communities' livelihood possibilities coming from ecotourism, as well as to promote land tenure and communities' empowerment.
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20. |
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21. |
- Coria, Jessica, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental Policy and the Size Distribution of Firms
- 2015
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this paper we analyze the effects of environmental policies on the size distribution of firms. We model a stationary industry where the observed size distribution is a solution to the profit maximization problem of heterogeneous firms that differ in terms of their energy efficiency. We compare the equilibrium size distribution under emission taxes, uniform emission standards, and performance standards. Our results indicate that, unlike emission taxes and performance standards, emission standards introduce regulatory asymmetries favoring small firms. These asymmetries cause significant detrimental effects on total output and total welfare, yet lead to reduced emissions and help preserve small businesses.
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22. |
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23. |
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24. |
- Coria, Jessica, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental policy, technology adoption and the size distribution of firms
- 2018
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Ingår i: Energy Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0140-9883 .- 1873-6181. ; 72, s. 470-485
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The potential impacts of strict environmental policies on production costs and firms' competitiviness are central to the choice of which policy to implement. However, not all the industries nor all firms within an industry are affected in the same way. In this paper, we investigate the effects of emission taxes, uniform emission standards, and performance standards on the size distribution of firms. Our results indicate that, unlike emission taxes and performance standards, emission standards introduce regulatory asymmetries favoring small firms. On the contrary, emission taxes and performance standards reduce to a lower extent profits of larger firms but they do modify the optimal scale of firms. We also show that when the regulatory asymmetries created by emissions standards are taken into account, the profitability of emissions reducing technologies is higher under emission standards than under market-based instruments.
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25. |
- Coria, Jessica, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Fiscal Federalism, Interjurisdictional Externalities and Overlapping Policies
- 2018
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this paper, we analyze the effects of the interaction between national and local policies designed to reduce an environmental externality that causes environmental damages both nationally and locally. We formulate a theoretical model to develop hypotheses regarding the combined effects of such policies on the stringency of the local policies and on firms’ emissions reductions. To test our hypotheses, we use actual data for Sweden, where emissions of nitrogen oxides from combustion plants are subject to a heavy national tax and to individual emissions standards set by county authorities. Our analytical findings suggest that it is unlikely that local regulators will impose emissions standards stringent enough to achieve further reductions than those induced by the national tax. This is confirmed in our data, where most emissions reductions can be attributed to the national tax and the effects of the emissions standards are not significant.
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