The Behavioral Effects of Carbon Taxes - Experimental Evidence
dc.contributor.author
Grieder, Manuel
dc.contributor.author
Bärenbold, Rebekka
dc.contributor.author
Schmitz, Jan
dc.contributor.author
Schubert, Renate
dc.date.accessioned
2020-07-17T08:33:10Z
dc.date.available
2020-07-06T10:39:01Z
dc.date.available
2020-07-17T08:33:10Z
dc.date.issued
2020-07-09
dc.identifier.other
10.2139/ssrn.3628516
en_US
dc.identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/424598
dc.description.abstract
Carbon taxes are a prominent policy instrument for decreasing the consumption of CO2-intensive goods in order to reduce the negative external effects involved in the production or consumption of such goods. A tax leads to higher consumer prices, which typically lowers consumption. However, in this paper we provide evidence from laboratory experiments that carbon taxes may be less effective than assumed because of unintended behavioral effects. Especially earmarking the revenues of a carbon tax for environmental purposes – a practice that is popular with voters and policy makers – can crowd out consumers' intrinsic motivation to avoid negative externalities. If this is the case, the tax not only increases consumer prices but also raises consumers' willingness to pay for the taxed good. This, in turn, can offset the price effect and lowers the intended consumption-reducing effect of the tax. Our results suggest that such unintended behavioral effects can be avoided by not earmarking the tax revenue.
en_US
dc.language.iso
en
en_US
dc.publisher
Social Science Research Network
dc.subject
Carbon tax
en_US
dc.subject
Green tax
en_US
dc.subject
Negative externality
en_US
dc.subject
Tax effectiveness
en_US
dc.subject
Earmarking
en_US
dc.subject
Intrinsic motivation
en_US
dc.subject
moral motivation
en_US
dc.subject
Pro-environmental behavior
en_US
dc.subject
Crowding-out
en_US
dc.subject
Moral licensing
en_US
dc.title
The Behavioral Effects of Carbon Taxes - Experimental Evidence
en_US
dc.type
Working Paper
ethz.journal.title
SSRN
ethz.pages.start
3628516
en_US
ethz.size
32 p.
en_US
ethz.code.jel
JEL - JEL::C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods::C9 - Design of Experiments::C91 - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
en_US
ethz.code.jel
JEL - JEL::D - Microeconomics::D0 - General::D03 - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
en_US
ethz.code.jel
JEL - JEL::D - Microeconomics::D0 - General::D04 - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation, Implementation, and Evaluation
en_US
ethz.code.jel
JEL - JEL::D - Microeconomics::D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics::D12 - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
en_US
ethz.code.jel
JEL - JEL::H - Public Economics::H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue::H23 - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
en_US
ethz.code.jel
JEL - JEL::Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics::Q5 - Environmental Economics::Q58 - Government Policy
en_US
ethz.notes
Date written: June 16, 2020.
en_US
ethz.publication.place
Rochester, NY
ethz.publication.status
published
en_US
ethz.leitzahl
ETH Zürich::00002 - ETH Zürich::00012 - Lehre und Forschung::00007 - Departemente::02045 - Dep. Geistes-, Sozial- u. Staatswiss. / Dep. of Humanities, Social and Pol.Sc.::03361 - Schubert, Renate (emeritus) / Schubert, Renate (emeritus)
en_US
ethz.leitzahl
ETH Zürich::00002 - ETH Zürich::00003 - Schulleitung und Dienste::00022 - Bereich VP Forschung / Domain VP Research::02803 - Collegium Helveticum / Collegium Helveticum
ethz.leitzahl.certified
ETH Zürich::00002 - ETH Zürich::00012 - Lehre und Forschung::00007 - Departemente::02045 - Dep. Geistes-, Sozial- u. Staatswiss. / Dep. of Humanities, Social and Pol.Sc.::03361 - Schubert, Renate (emeritus) / Schubert, Renate (emeritus)
en_US
ethz.leitzahl.certified
ETH Zürich::00002 - ETH Zürich::00003 - Schulleitung und Dienste::00022 - Bereich VP Forschung / Domain VP Research::02803 - Collegium Helveticum / Collegium Helveticum
ethz.date.deposited
2020-07-06T10:39:11Z
ethz.source
FORM
ethz.eth
yes
en_US
ethz.availability
Metadata only
en_US
ethz.rosetta.installDate
2020-07-17T08:33:21Z
ethz.rosetta.lastUpdated
2024-02-02T11:26:48Z
ethz.rosetta.versionExported
true
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Working Paper [5735]