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The Death of the Pigovian Tax? Policy Implications from the Double-Dividend Debate

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  • Eban Goodstein

Abstract

Recently, economists appear to have abandoned a central precept of environmental policy: optimal environmental taxes are equal to marginal environmental damage (MED). As a consequence of labor market distortions, optimal environmental taxes are now generally argued to typically lie below MED, and given realistic policy constraints on optimal tax reform, sometimes well below MED. This new consensus is reflected in over a dozen papers published without rebuttal in prestigious economics journals, in important survey articles, and in policy-oriented manuscripts. How was it possible that such a radical transformation of economic thinking occurred with essentially no debate in the literature?

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  • Eban Goodstein, 2003. "The Death of the Pigovian Tax? Policy Implications from the Double-Dividend Debate," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 79(3), pages 402-414.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:landec:v:79:y:2003:i:3:p:402-414
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    1. Bovenberg, A Lans & Goulder, Lawrence H, 1996. "Optimal Environmental Taxation in the Presence of Other Taxes: General-Equilibrium Analyses," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(4), pages 985-1000, September.
    2. Ian W.H. Parry & Roberton C. Williams III & Lawrence H. Goulder, 2002. "When Can Carbon Abatement Policies Increase Welfare? The Fundamental Role of Distorted Factor Markets," Chapters, in: Lawrence H. Goulder (ed.), Environmental Policy Making in Economies with Prior Tax Distortions, chapter 25, pages 471-503, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Lawrence H. Goulder & Ian W.H. Parry & Roberton C. Williams III & Dallas Burtraw, 2002. "The Cost-Effectiveness of Alternative Instruments for Environmental Protection in a Second-Best Setting," Chapters, in: Lawrence H. Goulder (ed.), Environmental Policy Making in Economies with Prior Tax Distortions, chapter 27, pages 523-554, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Sarah E. West & Roberton C. Williams, 2004. "Empirical Estimates for Environmental Policy Making in a Second-Best Setting," NBER Working Papers 10330, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Parry, Ian W.H. & Oates, Wallace E., 1998. "Policy Analysis in a Second-Best World," Discussion Papers 10687, Resources for the Future.
    6. Chiroleu-Assouline, Mireille & Fodha, Mouez, 2006. "Double dividend hypothesis, golden rule and welfare distribution," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 323-335, May.
    7. Bovenberg, A.L. & Goulder, L.H., 1996. "Optimal environmental taxation in the presence of other taxes : General equilibrium analyses," Other publications TiSEM 5d4b7517-c5c8-4ef6-ab76-3, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    8. Don Fullerton & Gilbert E. Metcalf, 2002. "Environmental Controls, Scarcity Rents, and Pre-existing Distortions," Chapters, in: Lawrence H. Goulder (ed.), Environmental Policy Making in Economies with Prior Tax Distortions, chapter 26, pages 504-522, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Ian W.H. Parry, 2002. "Pollution Taxes and Revenue Reycling," Chapters, in: Lawrence H. Goulder (ed.), Environmental Policy Making in Economies with Prior Tax Distortions, chapter 15, pages 235-248, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Carraro,Carlo & Siniscalco,Domenico (ed.), 1997. "New Directions in the Economic Theory of the Environment," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521590891, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jean-Denis Garon & Charles Séguin, 2021. "Environmental Tax Reform in a Federation with Rent-Induced Migration," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 78(3), pages 487-519, March.
    2. Alcott, Blake, 2008. "The sufficiency strategy: Would rich-world frugality lower environmental impact," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 770-786, February.
    3. Arwin Pang & Daigee Shaw, 2011. "Optimal emission tax with pre-existing distortions," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 13(2), pages 79-88, June.
    4. Mazumder, Diya B., 2014. "Biofuel subsidies versus the gas tax: The carrot or the stick?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 361-374.
    5. Torstein Bye & Annegrete Bruvoll, 2008. "Multiple instruments to change energy behaviour: The emperor's new clothes?," Discussion Papers 549, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    6. Iain Fraser & Robert Waschik, 2010. "The Double Dividend Hypothesis in a CGE Model: Specific Factors and Variable Labour Supply," Working Papers 2010.02, School of Economics, La Trobe University.
    7. Jonas Westin, 2011. "Labor Market Effects of Road Pricing in a Population with Continuously Distributed Value of Time," ERSA conference papers ersa10p1458, European Regional Science Association.
    8. Pezzey, John C.V., 2006. "Neither the rock nor the hard place: using payment thresholds to balance the politics and the economics of emissions control," 2006 Conference (50th), February 8-10, 2006, Sydney, Australia 139892, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.

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    JEL classification:

    • Q21 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Demand and Supply; Prices

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