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Distributional biases in the analysis of climate change

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  • Skott, Peter
  • Davis, Leila

Abstract

The economic analysis of global warming is dominated by models based on optimal growth theory. These representative-agent models have an intrinsic distributional bias in favor of the rich. The bias is compounded by the use of ‘revenue-neutrality’ in the allocation of emission permits. The result is mitigation recommendations that are biased downwards.

Suggested Citation

  • Skott, Peter & Davis, Leila, 2013. "Distributional biases in the analysis of climate change," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 188-197.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:85:y:2013:i:c:p:188-197
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.06.014
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    Cited by:

    1. Peter Skott, 2016. "Aggregate demand, functional finance, and secular stagnation," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 13(2), pages 172-188, September.
    2. Zhou, P. & Wang, M., 2016. "Carbon dioxide emissions allocation: A review," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 47-59.
    3. S. Scrieciu & Valerie Belton & Zaid Chalabi & Reinhard Mechler & Daniel Puig, 2014. "Advancing methodological thinking and practice for development-compatible climate policy planning," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 261-288, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Representative agent; Welfare; Global warming; Inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q13 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Markets and Marketing; Cooperatives; Agribusiness
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • E1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models

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