Ympäristö- ja luonnonvarataloustieteen kollokvio
Policies for provision of environmental public goods:
Promoting status seeking or impure altruism?
Ph.D.
Essi Eerola, Helsingin yliopisto, kansantaloustieteen laitos
Aika: Keskiviikkona 24.3.2004 15.15-
Paikka: Helsingin yliopisto, Viikki, Latokartanonkaari 9, Taloustieteiden talo (vanha A-talo), ls B5
We examine the design of policies
for promoting consumption of environmentally benign goods under preference and
income heterogeneity using organic production as an example. Our main focus is
on alternative majority preferred policies and their potential distributional
effects. We consider two different ways to promote the demand of organic products:
a price subsidy on the organic product and a tax on conventional product. Our
results indicate that if there are no income differences and the intervention
is carried out by a welfare maximizing government, the choice of a policy instrument
does not matter for the consumers. However, if there are income differences, a
socially optimal subsidy on organic goods is always preferred to a tax on conventional
goods by the consumer group of status seekers with high income while the consumer
group of impure altruists with low income prefer a tax on conventional goods.
When environmental policy is determined in a political process by the median voter,
implemented policies are laxer than socially optimal ones if preference heterogeneity
is substantial while they tend to be stricter than socially optimal policies if
income differences are large.
(the presentation will be in Finnish)
Tervetuloa!
Anni
Huhtala, MTT, Markku Ollikainen, HY, Jari Kuuluvainen, HY, Olli Tahvonen, Metla,
Lauri Valsta, HY, Esa-Jussi Viitala, Metla, sihteeri, esa-jussi.viitala@metla.fi
