Environmental policy with green consumerism

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Environmental Economics and Management
Year: 2022
Volume: 111
Issue: C

Authors (2)

Ambec, Stefan (Toulouse School of Economics (...) De Donder, Philippe (not in RePEc)

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 analyze environmental policy in a model where some consumers (dubbed green) derive warm glow from buying a good of a higher environmental quality, and where green firms differentiate products on their environmental quality to enjoy market power. For any given pollution level, emission taxes turn out to be less cost-effective than an emission standard because taxation always induces a higher wedge between the environmental qualities of products. By stark contrast, consumers prefer taxes to standards when the warm glow intensity is not too large. Also, the ability of green firms to exert market power makes the tax less attractive to green consumers. When the pollution level is endogenized via majority voting, both neutral and green consumers vote in favor of laxer standards and therefore pollution is higher compared to the case of non-differentiated products. By contrast, the majority chosen tax induces the efficient level of pollution. Green consumerism reduces environmental protection with standards but not with taxes.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jeeman:v:111:y:2022:i:c:s0095069621001297
Journal Field
Environment
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-24