Sammanfattning

How do technology spillovers affect the relationship between emissions taxes and technological change? Without spillovers, a regulator applies Pigovian taxes which lead to a first-best optimum (optimal emissions and optimal technology investment). Given spillovers, Pigovian taxes are likely to be second-best optimal if emissions-saving technology and production technology are equally undersupplied; raising taxes above the Pigovian level boosts emissions-saving investment, but only at the expense of production investment. The technologies are equally undersupplied when there is a degree of symmetry between the sectors, and the economy is on a balanced growth path. On a transition path with rising atmospheric stocks and a high level of investment in emissions-saving technology, a regulator may raise carbon taxes above the Pigovian level in order to encourage investment in emissions-saving technology at the expense of production technology. I show this using both analytical and numerical results. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nyckelord

climate policy; carbon tax; technological change; knowledge spillovers

Publicerad i

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management
2008, Volym: 55, nummer: 2, sidor: 194-212
Utgivare: ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE

SLU författare

• Hart, Robert

  • Institutionen för ekonomi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

UKÄ forskningsämne

Samhällsvetenskap
Miljö- och naturvårdsvetenskap
Ekonomi och näringsliv


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2007.06.004

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/18191