Regulation Versus Taxation /

We study which policy tool and at what level a majority chooses in order to reduce activities with negative externalities. We consider three instruments: a rule, that sets an upper limit to the activity which produces the negative externality, a quota that forces a proportional reduction of the acti...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
1. Verfasser:
Alesina, Alberto F.
Körperschaft:
National Bureau of Economic Research
Weitere Verfasser:
Passarelli, Francesco
Format:
Elektronisch E-Book
Sprache:
Englisch
Veröffentlicht:
Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2010.
Zusammenfassung:
We study which policy tool and at what level a majority chooses in order to reduce activities with negative externalities. We consider three instruments: a rule, that sets an upper limit to the activity which produces the negative externality, a quota that forces a proportional reduction of the activity, and a proportional tax on it. For all instruments the majority chooses levels which are too restrictive when the activity is performed mainly by a small fraction of the population, and when costs for reducing activities or paying taxes are sufficiently convex. Also a majority may prefer an instrument different than what a social planner would choose; for instance a rule when the social planner would choose a tax.
Umfang:
1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);
Anmerkungen:
September 2010.
Schlagworte: