Environmental Tax and the Distribution of Income among Heterogeneous Workers

This paper analyzes the environmental tax policy issues when labor is heterogeneous. The objective is to assess whether an environmental tax policy could be Pareto improving, when the revenue of the pollution tax is recycled by a change in the labor tax properties. We show that, depending on the heterogeneity characteristics of labor and on the initial structure of the tax system, a policy mix could be designed in order to leave each class of worker unharmed. It consists of an increase in progressivity together with a decrease in the flat rate component of the wage tax.Environmental tax, Heterogeneous agents, Welfare analysis, Tax progressivity.

Double Dividend Hypothesis, Golden Rule and Welfare Distribution

This paper analyzes the double dividend issues within the framework of overlapping generations models. We characterize the necessary conditions for obtaining a double dividend, i.e. an improvement of environmental and non-environmental welfare when the revenue from the pollution tax is recycled into a change in the labor tax rate. We show that, depending on the initial capital stock and on the intertemporal elasticity of substitution, conditions may be defined to simultaneously allow (i) the obtaining of a long term double dividend, (ii) the economy to move closer to the modified golden rule and (iii) in the short term, an improvement in the welfare of the two present generations.Environmental tax; Overlapping generations model; Golden rule; Double dividend

Environmental quality, public debt and economic development

This article analyzes the consequences on capital accumulation and environmental quality of environmental policies financed by public debt. A public sector of pollution abatement is financed by a tax and/or public debt. We show that if the initial capital stock is high enough, the economy monotonically converges to a long-run steady state. On the contrary, when the initial capital stock is low, the economy is relegated to an environmental-poverty trap. We also explore the implications of public policies on the trap and on the long-run stable steady state. In particular, we find that government should decrease debt and increase pollution abatement to promote capital accumulation and environmental quality at the stable long-run steady state.Environmental policies; pollution abatement; public debt; economic development; poverty trap

Optimal Nuclear Waste Burial Policy under Uncertainty

The aim of this paper is to study the optimal nuclear waste burial policy under an uncertainty : the possibility that an accident might occur in the future. The framework is an optimal growth model with pollution disutility. We show, under some conditions on the waste burial policy, that nuclear power may be a long-term solution for the world energy demand. Under uncertainty on the future safety of the buried waste, the social planner will decide to decrease the rate of waste burying, but the evolution of consumption and hence the evolution of the level of buried waste, are ambiguous. Depending on some simple conditions on the balanced growth rate of the economy and on the preference parameters of the households, the optimal amount of buried waste may increase, even if there is a risk of accident in the future.Nuclear waste; pollution; growth; uncertainty

Maintenance environnementale et politique fiscale optimale dans un modèle à générations imbriquées

Cet article analyse les politiques fiscales à mettre en œuvre afin de lutter contre une externalité de pollution. Nous considérons un modèle à générations imbriquées où seul l'État mène une activité de maintenance de l'environnement, financée par le prélèvement de taxes. L'équilibre concurrentiel est sous-optimal puisque l'économie est confrontée (i) à un problème de fourniture du bien public qu'est la maintenance, (ii) à une externalité de pollution induite par la consommation, (iii) à l'égoïsme des individus à courte durée de vie. Nous déterminons la structure fiscale telle que l'optimum et l'équilibre concurrentiel coïncident. Nous retrouvons alors la règle de Samuelson, modifiée afin d'intégrer un taux d'actualisation social pertinent, incorporant le taux d'assimilation naturelle de la pollution. Par ailleurs, l'intervention publique ne peut se limiter à neutraliser les flux de polluants : cette activité publique doit prendre en compte, outre une composante de dépollution, une composante optimale d'entretien.Taxe environnementale - modèle à générations imbriquées - règle d'or modifiée.

Maintenance environnementale et politique fiscale optimale dans un modèle à générations imbriquées

Accessible sur Cairn : http://www.cairn.info/revue-recherches-economiques-de-louvain-2005-4-p-413.htmCet article analyse les politiques fiscales à mettre en œuvre afin de lutter contre une externalité de pollution. Nous considérons un modèle à générations imbriquées où seul l'État mène une activité de maintenance de l'environnement, financée par le prélèvement de taxes. L'équilibre concurrentiel est sous-optimal puisque l'économie est confrontée (i) à un problème de fourniture du bien public qu'est la maintenance, (ii) à une externalité de pollution induite par la consommation, (iii) à l'égoïsme des individus à courte durée de vie. Nous déterminons la structure fiscale telle que l'optimum et l'équilibre concurrentiel coïncident. Nous retrouvons alors la règle de Samuelson, modifiée afin d'intégrer un taux d'actualisation social pertinent, incorporant le taux d'assimilation naturelle de la pollution. Par ailleurs, l'intervention publique ne peut se limiter à neutraliser les flux de polluants : cette activité publique doit prendre en compte, outre une composante de dépollution, une composante optimale d'entretien

Double Dividend with Involuntary Unemployment: Efficiency and Intergenerational Equity

This paper analyzes the double dividend and distributional issues within an overlapping generations models framework with involuntary unemployment. We characterize the necessary conditions for the obtention of a double dividend when the revenue of the environmental tax is recycled by a variation of the labor tax rate. We show that an employment dividend may occur without any efficiency dividend and that the young generation is not always harmed by the fiscal reform, even without any intergenerational transfers. Therefore, three dividends (environmental, efficiency and intergenerational equity) can simultaneously occur.Environmental tax; Intergenerational equity; Unemployment; Double dividend

Life Cycle of Products and Cycles

The aim of this paper is to examine whether the development of waste recycling activities can be a source of economic fluctuation. We assume that the recycling sector has four fundamental characteristics. (i) The production factors are restricted by the production of the last period. (ii) These production factors are waste for which the price determination is non-competitive. (iii) It produces a recycled good, which is a perfect substitute to th primary good. (iv) It reduces waste stream. We consider the simplest economy with an infinitely lived agent and a life cycle hypothesis for the goods. We show that the equilibrium is unique and is always determinate. In spite of the lack of indeterminacy, however, our system can display cyclical behavior, depending on some usual conditions on parameters. Namely, the steady-state may undergo a Flip and a Hopf bifurcation.Cycles, recycling, waste.

Environmental Policy and Public Debt Stabilization

This article analyzes the consequences of environmental tax policy under public debt stabilization constraint. A public sector of pollution abatement is financed by a tax on pollutant emissions and/or by public debt. In the same time, households can also invest in private pollution abatement activities. We show that the economy may be characterized by an environmental-poverty trap if debt is too large or public abatement is not sufficiently efficient with respect to the private one. However, there exists a level of public abatement and debt for a stable steady state to be optimal