Auctions of pollution rights have sometimes been suggested as an alternative to corrective taxes. These two methods of pollution control are not, in general, equivalent, however. When pollution rights are auctioned, the right to pollute is equivalent to the right to produce, so the auction of...

Economics is a matter of choice and growth, of interaction and exchange among individuals. Because property rights define the rules of these interactions and the objects of exchange, it is vital to fully understand the institutions and implications of the various property-rights regimes. With...

Our original article noted that auctions of pollution rights could increase a tendency toward monopoly in the offending industry. Professor Oates has provided some insightful comments in arguing for auctions rather than Pigouvian taxes, but the validity of the argument in our original article is...