Emissions cap or emissions tax? A multi-sector business cycle analysis

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Environmental Economics and Management
Year: 2016
Volume: 79
Issue: C
Pages: 169-188

Authors (2)

Dissou, Yazid (not in RePEc) Karnizova, Lilia (Université d'Ottawa)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We develop a multi-sector business cycle model to analyze stochastic implications of reducing CO2 emissions with carbon permits or with carbon taxes in the presence of multiple sources of macroeconomic uncertainty. The model is calibrated to reflect the U.S. experience. As in previous studies, using a single-sector version of our model, we find that the cap regime generates lower volatility of real variables than the tax regime, but the latter may be preferable from the welfare perspective. Still, our multi-sector analysis points to the importance of the origin of the shocks in the ranking of the two instruments and to the desirability of going beyond a single-sector analysis in evaluating their merits. We find no significant difference between the cap and the tax regimes when shocks come from non-energy sectors. In contrast, the cap has lower volatility but higher welfare costs than the tax for the shocks to energy production.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jeeman:v:79:y:2016:i:c:p:169-188
Journal Field
Environment
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25