Optimal Fossil-Fuel Taxation with Backstop Technologies and Tenure Risk

The paper derives the global welfare-optimizing time path for a tax on fossil fuels causing a negative stock externality (climate change), under increasing marginal extraction cost, and in the presence of an unlimited backstop resource causing no externality. In a basic competitive case, the optimal...

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Main Author: Strand, Jon
Format: Journal Article
Language:EN
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4964
id okr-10986-4964
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-49642021-04-23T14:02:20Z Optimal Fossil-Fuel Taxation with Backstop Technologies and Tenure Risk Strand, Jon Taxation and Subsidies: Efficiency Optimal Taxation H210 Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities Redistributive Effects Environmental Taxes and Subsidies H230 Business Taxes and Subsidies including sales and value-added (VAT) H250 Mining, Extraction, and Refining: Hydrocarbon Fuels L710 Energy: Demand and Supply Q410 The paper derives the global welfare-optimizing time path for a tax on fossil fuels causing a negative stock externality (climate change), under increasing marginal extraction cost, and in the presence of an unlimited backstop resource causing no externality. In a basic competitive case, the optimal tax equals the Pigou rate, equivalent to the present discounted value of marginal damage costs. We consider two separate types of tenure insecurity for resource owners, and their impact on the tax implementing the optimal policy. When insecure control is with respect to future ownership to the resource, competitive extraction is higher than otherwise, and the efficiency-implementing tax exceeds the Pigou rate. When tenure insecurity instead implies possible expropriation ("holdup") of investment in extraction capacity, it deters extraction, and the optimal tax is lower than the Pigou rate. 2012-03-30T07:30:36Z 2012-03-30T07:30:36Z 2010 Journal Article Energy Economics 01409883 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4964 EN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Journal Article
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language EN
topic Taxation and Subsidies: Efficiency
Optimal Taxation H210
Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities
Redistributive Effects
Environmental Taxes and Subsidies H230
Business Taxes and Subsidies including sales and value-added (VAT) H250
Mining, Extraction, and Refining: Hydrocarbon Fuels L710
Energy: Demand and Supply Q410
spellingShingle Taxation and Subsidies: Efficiency
Optimal Taxation H210
Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities
Redistributive Effects
Environmental Taxes and Subsidies H230
Business Taxes and Subsidies including sales and value-added (VAT) H250
Mining, Extraction, and Refining: Hydrocarbon Fuels L710
Energy: Demand and Supply Q410
Strand, Jon
Optimal Fossil-Fuel Taxation with Backstop Technologies and Tenure Risk
relation http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo
description The paper derives the global welfare-optimizing time path for a tax on fossil fuels causing a negative stock externality (climate change), under increasing marginal extraction cost, and in the presence of an unlimited backstop resource causing no externality. In a basic competitive case, the optimal tax equals the Pigou rate, equivalent to the present discounted value of marginal damage costs. We consider two separate types of tenure insecurity for resource owners, and their impact on the tax implementing the optimal policy. When insecure control is with respect to future ownership to the resource, competitive extraction is higher than otherwise, and the efficiency-implementing tax exceeds the Pigou rate. When tenure insecurity instead implies possible expropriation ("holdup") of investment in extraction capacity, it deters extraction, and the optimal tax is lower than the Pigou rate.
format Journal Article
author Strand, Jon
author_facet Strand, Jon
author_sort Strand, Jon
title Optimal Fossil-Fuel Taxation with Backstop Technologies and Tenure Risk
title_short Optimal Fossil-Fuel Taxation with Backstop Technologies and Tenure Risk
title_full Optimal Fossil-Fuel Taxation with Backstop Technologies and Tenure Risk
title_fullStr Optimal Fossil-Fuel Taxation with Backstop Technologies and Tenure Risk
title_full_unstemmed Optimal Fossil-Fuel Taxation with Backstop Technologies and Tenure Risk
title_sort optimal fossil-fuel taxation with backstop technologies and tenure risk
publishDate 2012
url http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4964
_version_ 1764393417806184448