Much of the potential impact of environmental policy is though to come from the incentives it gives firms to develop and introduce new environmental products and processes. Almost all the literature on this issue has focused on the impact of environmental policy on the amount environmental R&D...

The computable general equilibrium models used in the literature tend to be a bit of a black box. This paper provides some intuition behind what goes on in these black boxes by laying out a simple general equilibrium model and intuitively explaining what lies behind the demand for emissions. It...

This study estimates parameters necessary to calculate the optimal second-best gasoline tax, most notably the cross-price elasticity between gasoline and leisure. Prior work indicates that in a second-best setting with distortionary income taxes, both the cost of environmental regulation and the...

This paper examines potential environmental tax policy reforms. It focuses primarily on a carbon tax, but also more briefly considers a range of other possible changes. These include revising or eliminating various energy and environmental tax credits and deductions (many of which might become...

The world has pledged to protect 30 percent of its land and waters by 2030 to halt the rapid deterioration of critical ecosystems. We summarize the state of knowledge about the impacts of protected area policies, with a focus on deforestation and vegetation cover. We discuss critical issues...

We analyze the connection between productivity, pollution abatement expenditures, and other measures of environmental regulation for plants in three industries (paper, oil, and steel). We examine data from 1979 to 1990, considering both total factor productivity levels and growth rates. Plants...

Political debates around environmental regulation often center around the effect of policy on jobs. Opponents decry the "job-killing" EPA and proponents point to "green jobs" as a positive policy outcome. And beyond the political debates, Congress requires the EPA to evaluate "potential losses...

We study a dynamic model of environmental protection in which the level of pollution is a state variable that strategically links policy making periods. Policymakers are forward looking but politically motivated: they have heterogeneous preferences and do not fully internalize the cost of...

The decade from 2010 to 2019 marked a significant turning point in China's history of environmental regulation and pollution. This article describes the recent trends in air and water quality, with a focus on the five years since China declared a "war on pollution" in 2014. It summarizes the...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses a dynamic approach to environmental enforcement for air pollution, with repeat offenders subject to high fines and designation as high priority violators (HPV). We estimate the benefits of dynamic monitoring and enforcement by developing and...