Optimal Environmental Taxation in the Presence of Other Taxes: General Equilibrium Analyses
AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Vol. 86, No. 4, September 1996
Posted: 21 Apr 1998
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Optimal Environmental Taxation in the Presence of Other Taxes: General Equilibrium Analyses
Abstract
This paper employs analytical and numerical general equilibrium models to examine the optimal setting of environmental taxes in the presence of pre-existing distortionary taxes. Both models indicate, contrary to what several analysts have suggested, that the optimal environmental tax rate in this setting is less than the rate implied by the "Pigovian principle," which would equate the tax to the marginal environmental damage from pollution. Numerical results show that previous studies may have seriously overstated the size of the optimal carbon tax by disregarding pre-existing taxes, and that the optimal carbon tax can be negative when revenues from the tax are recycled in a lump-sum fashion.
JEL Classification: D62, H21, H23
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation