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The welfare implications of climate change policy

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  • Leach, Andrew J.

Abstract

The response to three different climate change policies is measured within a general equilibrium model of world output, technological change, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate-driven changes in productivity. The proposed policies, including an approximation to the Kyoto protocol, are shown to differ greatly in how they mitigate climate change, support economic growth, and allocate rents across generations. Benefits of alternative policies, relative to the status quo, do not necessarily accrue to the generations that bear the costs. The results also show that the chosen rent distribution rule has a profound effect on policy evaluation. In particular, policies which allocate rents on a per-capita basis are shown to be systematically welfare-preferred to situations where emissions rights are grandfathered to emitting firms. This implies that both the optimal level of emissions and the welfare cost of reaching a given target of emissions or atmospheric concentration would be lower under a per-capita allocation of emissions permits or carbon tax revenues.

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  • Leach, Andrew J., 2009. "The welfare implications of climate change policy," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 151-165, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:57:y:2009:i:2:p:151-165
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    Cited by:

    1. Ikefuji, M. & Laeven, R.J.A. & Magnus, J.R. & Muris, C.H.M., 2010. "Scrap Value Functions in Dynamic Decision Problems," Discussion Paper 2010-77, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    2. Arief Yusuf & Budy Resosudarmo, 2015. "On the distributional impact of a carbon tax in developing countries: the case of Indonesia," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 17(1), pages 131-156, January.
    3. Laurence Kotlikoff & Felix Kubler & Andrey Polbin & Jeffrey Sachs & Simon Scheidegger, 2021. "Making Carbon Taxation A Generational Win Win," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 62(1), pages 3-46, February.
    4. Olivier Bahn & Andrew Leach, 2008. "The secondary benefits of climate change mitigation: an overlapping generations approach," Computational Management Science, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 233-257, May.
    5. Bruno Conte & Klaus Desmet & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2022. "On the Geographic Implications of Carbon Taxes," NBER Working Papers 30678, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Nils Ohlendorf & Michael Jakob & Jan Christoph Minx & Carsten Schröder & Jan Christoph Steckel, 2021. "Distributional Impacts of Carbon Pricing: A Meta-Analysis," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 78(1), pages 1-42, January.
    7. Rausch, Sebastian & Yonezawa, Hidemichi, 2023. "Green technology policies versus carbon pricing: An intergenerational perspective," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    8. Lint Barrage, 2019. "The Nobel Memorial Prize for William D. Nordhaus," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 121(3), pages 884-924, July.
    9. Nils Ohlendorf & Michael Jakob & Jan Christoph Minx & Carsten Schröder & Jan Christoph Steckel, 2018. "Distributional Impacts of Climate Mitigation Policies - a Meta-Analysis," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1776, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    10. Mikhail Golosov & John Hassler & Per Krusell & Aleh Tsyvinski, 2014. "Optimal Taxes on Fossil Fuel in General Equilibrium," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 82(1), pages 41-88, January.
    11. Lint Barrage, 2020. "Optimal Dynamic Carbon Taxes in a Climate–Economy Model with Distortionary Fiscal Policy," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(1), pages 1-39.
    12. Cantore, Nicola, 2011. "Distributional aspects of emissions in climate change integrated assessment models," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2919-2924, May.
    13. Ditya A Nurdianto & Budy P Resosudarmo, 2014. "ASEAN Economic community and climate change," Departmental Working Papers 2014-24, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
    14. Andersen, Torben M. & Bhattacharya, Joydeep & Liu, Pan, 2020. "Resolving intergenerational conflict over the environment under the Pareto criterion," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    15. Andersen, Torben M. & Bhattacharya, Joydeep & Liu, Pan, 2018. "A way to resolve intergenerational conflict over the environment under the Pareto criterion using green bonds," ISU General Staff Papers 201808240700001070, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    16. Motavasseli, Ali, 2016. "Essays in environmental policy and household economics," Other publications TiSEM b32e287e-169b-4e89-9878-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    17. Celso Brunetti & Matteo Crosignani & Benjamin Dennis & Gurubala Kotta & Donald P. Morgan & Chaehee Shin & Ilknur Zer, 2024. "Climate-Related Financial Stability Risks for the United States: Methods and Applications," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 30(1), pages 1-37, October.
    18. Stephie Fried & Kevin Novan & William Peterman, 2018. "The Distributional Effects of a Carbon Tax on Current and Future Generations," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 30, pages 30-46, October.
    19. Di Maria, Corrado & Smulders, Sjak & van der Werf, Edwin, 2012. "Absolute abundance and relative scarcity: Environmental policy with implementation lags," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 104-119.
    20. Voyvoda, Ebru, 2013. "Energy-Economy-Environment Interaction Using OLG Framework: Evaluation of Alternative Policies under Demographic Transition," Conference papers 332376, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    21. Jérémy Laurent-Lucchetti & Andrew Leach, 2006. "Induced innovation in a decentralized model of climate change," Cahiers de recherche 06-02, HEC Montréal, Institut d'économie appliquée.
    22. Rausch, Sebastian & Abrell, Jan, 2014. "Optimal Dynamic Carbon Taxation in a Life-Cycle Model with Distortionary Fiscal Policy," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100513, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    23. Hassler, J. & Krusell, P. & Smith, A.A., 2016. "Environmental Macroeconomics," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1893-2008, Elsevier.
    24. Blanco, Esther & Dutcher, E. Glenn & Haller, Tobias, 2020. "Social dilemmas with public and private insurance against losses," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 924-937.
    25. Juan S. Mora-Sanguinetti & Andrés Atienza-Maeso, 2023. ""Green regulation": a quantification of regulations related to renewable energies and climate change in Spain and France," Working papers 937, Banque de France.

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