曼昆经济学原理Chapter 10.ppt

Why is gasoline taxed so heavily? How high should the tax on gasoline be? Most European countries Higher gasoline tax than in the U.S. 2007, Journal of Economic Literature Optimal corrective tax on gasoline = $2.10 per gallon Actual tax in the United States: 40 cents * ? 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. Why is gasoline taxed so heavily? Tax revenue from a gasoline tax Used to lower taxes that distort incentives and cause deadweight losses Some government regulations Production of fuel-efficient cars – unnecessary * ? 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. Public Policies Toward Externalities Tradable pollution permits Voluntary transfer of the right to pollute from one firm to another New scarce resource: pollution permits Market to trade permits Firm’s willingness to pay Depend on its cost of reducing pollution * ? 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. Public Policies Toward Externalities Tradable pollution permits Advantage of free market for pollution permits Initial allocation of pollution permits doesn't matter If firms can reduce pollution at a low cost Sell whatever permits they get If firms can reduce pollution only at a high cost Buy whatever permits they need Efficient final allocation * ? 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, exce