Yellow Vests, Pessimistic Beliefs, and Carbon Tax Aversion

Thomas Douenne and Adrien Fabre

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2022, vol. 14, issue 1, 81-110

Abstract: Using a representative survey, we find that after the Yellow Vests movement, French people would largely reject a tax and dividend policy, i.e., a carbon tax whose revenues are redistributed uniformly to each adult. They overestimate their net monetary losses, wrongly think that the policy is regressive, and do not perceive it as environmentally effective. We show that changing people's beliefs can substantially increase support. Although significant, the effects of our informational treatments on beliefs are small. Indeed, the respondents that oppose the tax tend to discard positive information about it, which is consistent with distrust, uncertainty, or motivated reasoning.

JEL-codes: D83 H23 H31 Q54 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Working Paper: Yellow Vests, Pessimistic Beliefs, and Carbon Tax Aversion (2022)
Working Paper: Yellow Vests, Pessimistic Beliefs, and Carbon Tax Aversion (2022)
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DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200092

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