Optimal Environmental Policies for Multiple Externalities of Energy

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• 研討會日期 : 2004-04-27
• 時間 : 15:00
• 主講人 : 李叢楨教授
• 地點 : B棟110室
• 演講者簡介 : 李叢禎教授為Ph.D. in Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University。 現為國立臺北大學經濟系助理教授。 其主要研究領域為Applied General Equilibrium Analysis、Environmental Economics、International Trade 及 Applied Econometrics。
• 演講摘要 : This paper explores the optimal set of environmental policies for multiple externalities related to energy use. A theoretical model is first developed based on a general equilibrium framework where a multiple output technology is assumed and two public bads (greenhouse gases and local air pollutants) are generated through the use of fossil fuels in the consumption and production processes. The policy in this paper is defined as levying Pigouvian taxes on the users of fossil fuels. Jointly implementing a Pigouvian tax on greenhouse gases and a Pigouvian tax on local air pollutants is the theoretically first-best regulatory mean. The empirical work in this paper draws upon the theoretical findings. A computable general equilibrium (CGE) model for the United States is built to illustrate how ignorance of jointly optimal policies affects the overall welfare, energy production and consumption, environmental consequences, and economic activities. Three scenarios on energy taxes, including taxing greenhouse gases alone, taxing local air pollutants alone, and joint implementation of the above two taxes, are analyzed. Our numerical results are consistent with the optimal policy rule: the United States can achieve a higher welfare gains along with lower fuel use and pollution emissions in the scenario where joint taxes on greenhouse gases and local air pollutants are adopted. The estimated overall welfare gains are $12,308 million, where welfare gains of reductions in climate change damage and in adverse health effects make substantial contributions. With respect to the welfare gains from the reductions in the adverse health effects, the monetary health benefits estimates are dominated by the reductions in acute mortality and the chronic bronchitis effects, which represent about 98 percent of the total monetary health benefits.