Experiencing Carbon Pricing

Stefano Carattini, Ian Fletcher, Chad Kendall, Michael Price and Arthur Vu

No 34559, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Many socially desirable policies are not implemented because of their ex-ante unpopularity, but this unpopularity may be overcome through experience with the policy. In this paper, we examine how opposition to carbon pricing in the state of Washington turned into support after voters experienced a cap-and-trade policy with revenues earmarked for environmental purposes – "cap-and-invest." Analyzing voting behavior at the census block group level, we observe that support varies by political affiliation as expected, but experience consistently increases support across the board. Using a proprietary survey, we further show that the increase in support among voters in Washington state is specific to the cap-and invest policy they experienced; support for carbon pricing or climate policies more generally remained unchanged.

JEL-codes: D72 H23 P0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-12
Note: POL
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Working Paper: Experiencing Carbon Pricing (2025)
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