Optimal Abatement in Dynamic Multipollutant Problems when Pollutants can be Complements or Substitutes

We analyze a dynamic multi-pollutant problem where abatement costs of several pollutants are not separable. The pollutants can be either technological substitutes or complements. Environmental damage is induced by the stock of accumulated pollution. We find that optimal emission paths are qualitatively different for substitutes and complements. We derive general properties governing optimal emission paths and present numerical examples to illustrate our main results. In particular we find that optimal emission paths need not be monotonic, even for highly symmetric pollutants. Finally, we describe a comparatively simple method to implement the optimal path without explicitly knowing its shape. --Multi-pollution,abatement technology,accumulating pollutants

Pollution-Reducing and Resource-Saving Technological Progress

In this paper we survey the theoretical literature on both pollution-reducing and resource-saving technological progress. The literature can be divided into two strands. One strand deals with microeconomic models which investigate incentives to adopt and to develop environmentally more friendly technologies for different policy tools and in different economic environments, such as market structure or timing and commitment structures. It turns out that, firstly, price based instruments such as emission taxes and tradable permits perform better than command and control policies, and secondly, that under competitive conditions ex ante end ex post optimal policies are equivalent. Under imperfect market conditions the policy conclusions are more subtile. The second strand of literature deals with both pollution-reducing and resource-saving technological progress within endogenous growth models. Most of these models are characterized by three market imperfections : market power for new (intermediate) products, positive R&D spillovers, and pollution. These imperfections can be mitigated by subsidies on intermediate products, subsidies on R&D effort, and a tax on emissions. Moreover, in most models there occurs a trade-off between the speed of growth and environmental quality. --pollution-reducing technological progress,resource-saving technological progress,environmental innovation,endogenous growth models

Optimal Abatement in Dynamic Multi-Pollutant Problems When Pollutants can be Complements or Substitutes

We analyze a dynamic multi-pollutant problem where abatement costs of several pollutants are not separable. The pollutants can be either technological substitutes or complements. Environmental damage is induced by the stock of accumulated pollution. We find that optimal emission paths are qualitatively different for substitutes and complements. We derive general properties governing optimal emission paths and present numerical examples to illustrate our main results. In particular we find that optimal emission paths need not be monotonic, even for highly symmetric pollutants. Finally, we describe a comparatively simple method to implement the optimal path without explicitly knowing its shape. --Multi-pollution,abatement technology,accumulating pollutants

The Merits of New Pollutants and How to Get Them When Patents Are Granted

The performance of market based environmental regulation is affected by patents and vice versa. This interaction is studied for a new type of innovation where new technologies reduce emissions of a specific pollutant but at the same time cause a new type of damage. A robust finding is that the efficiency of permits is affected by monopoly pricing of the patent-holding firm. This result carries over to other types of innovation. Taxes are inefficient if technologies produce perfect substitutes and share all scarce inputs. Moreover, the optimal tax on pollution might be negative.Innovation; Environment; Instrument Choice; Patents; Monopoly Pricing

Climate policies with pollution externalities and learning spillovers

Economic theory suggests that with a pollution externality and learning spillovers related to renewable energy technologies, the optimal climate policy mix includes an emissions policy and an output subsidy to the learning industry. Instead of output subsidies, feed-in tariffs are often implemented in addition to emissions policies. This paper reveals that this policy mix may theoretically provide for a first-best outcome as well. However, its efficient design may be cumbersome for regulators. An emissions tax must be below the Pigovian level and differentiate between fossil fuels. Moreover, both tax and feed-in tariff must be adapted continuously. --Emissions tax,feed-in tariffs,policy mix,spillovers,learning by doing

The Design of Permit Schemes and Environmental Innovation

Most real world emission permit schemes are in effect hybrid instruments that feature both quantity and price controls. While the effects of price bounds are well understood for issues such as uncertain abatement costs it has not been investigated how such bounds affect time-consistency of environmental regulation and research incentives. The present paper analyzes these issues for two types of innovation. While price bounds increase static efficiency they reduce incentives to innovate. Commitment on details of a scheme’s design might be necessary to avoid the latter.Environmental Regulation, Hybrid Instruments, Innovation, Time-inconsistency

Climate Policies with Pollution Externalities and Learning Spillovers

Economic theory suggests that with a pollution externality and learning spillovers related to renewable energy technologies, the optimal climate policy mix includes an emissions policy and an output subsidy to the learning industry. Instead of output subsidies, feed-in tariffs are often implemented in addition to emissions policies. This paper reveals that this policy mix may theoretically provide for a first-best outcome as well. However, its efficient design may be cumbersome for regulators. An emissions tax must be below the Pigovian level and differentiate between fossil fuels. Moreover, both tax and feed-in tariff must be adapted continuously.emissions tax, feed-in tariffs, policy mix, spillovers, learning by doing

Environmental Policy Instruments: Technology Adoption Incentives with Imperfect Compliance

In this paper, we study the incentives to adopt advanced abatement technologies in the presence of imperfect compliance. Surprisingly, incentives to adopt advanced abatement technologies remain intact under emission taxes and pollution abatement subsidies when compared to the perfect compliance scenario. However, under emission standards imperfect compliance increases firms’ incentives to invest under certain assumptions, whereas under an emission permit mechanism investment incentives decrease only if widespread non-compliance induces a (sufficient) reduction in the permit price. Our results are valid for fairly general characteristics of the monitoring and enforcement strategies commonly found in both, theoretical and empirical applications.environmental policy; technology adoption; monitoring; non-compliance

Managers and Students Playing Cournot: Experimental Evidence from Malaysia

We report results from a Cournot triopoly experiment with different subject pools: German students, Malaysian students, and Malaysian managers. While German students play Nash, we reject the hypothesis that both Malaysian students and managers select the Nash quantity. Moreover, Malaysian managers perform significantly less competitively than Malaysian students. Finally, the affect of gender is opposite for German and Malaysian subjects. --artefactual field experiment,subject pools,Cournot oligopoly,managers,non-cooperative behavior

Commitment and Timing of Environmental Policy, Adoption of New Technology and Repercussions on R&D

We investigate the interplay between environmental policy, incentives to adopt new technology, and repercussions on R&D. We study a model where a monopolistic upstream firm engages in R&D and sells advanced abatement technology to polluting downstream firms which are subject to regulation. We consider for different timing and commitment regimes of environmental tax and permit policies: ex post taxation (or issuing permits) ex interim commitment to a tax rate (a quota of permits) after observing R&D success but before adaption, and two types of ex ante commitment before R&D activity. We study the second best tax and permit rules and rank the policies with respect to welfare. --