Climate policy and fiscal constraints: Do tax interactions outweigh carbon leakage?

Carolyn Fischer and Alan Fox ()

Energy Economics, 2012, vol. 34, issue S2, S218-S227

Abstract: Climate policymaking faces twin challenges of carbon leakage and public sector revenue requirements. A large literature advocates the use of CO2 pricing and recycling the revenues to lower distorting taxes as a way to minimize costs. In this paper, we explore the implications of labor tax interactions for cost-effectiveness of border adjustments and other measures to cope with leakage. We find that, for plausible values of labor supply elasticities, the cost savings from revenue recycling are significant—from 15 to 25%. The cost savings from anti-leakage measures are generally smaller, but also significant, particularly for small coalitions or more binding reduction targets. Tax interactions further enhance the cost savings from border adjustments, but make other measures like rebates or exemptions less attractive.

Keywords: Climate policy; Carbon leakage; Tax interactions; Border adjustments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H21 Q37 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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Working Paper: Climate Policy and Fiscal Constraints: Do Tax Interactions Outweigh Carbon Leakage? (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:34:y:2012:i:s2:p:s218-s227

DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2012.09.004

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