Optimal Environmental Tax in an Open Economy

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K03724
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Economic policy
• Research Institution: Rissho University
• Principal Investigator: Asako Kazumi 立正大学, 経済学部, 教授 (60134194)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 貿易と環境問題 / 最適環境税 / 社会的共通資本 / 限界的社会費用 / Pigou税 / 生産地主義 / 消費地主義 / 小国と大国

Outline of Final Research Achievements

One of the main purposes of this research project is to examine into the optimal environmental tax to reduce the worsening of the environmental quality vis-a-vis the globalized economies. Two tax schemes are compared: production based levy and consumption based levy. The former sets the environmental tax rate by imputing the marginal social cost of pollution caused by the domestic production activities while the latter sets the tax rate by assesing the consumption activities including exports and imports. The optimal tax rate theoretically obtaind is, in most cases, the one based on consumption activities. This is a striking result in these days of globalization.
In order to assesse the real economic tax levey, I visited and examined several places that confront with the trade-off between economic development and environment protection, only to reach the conclusion that stresses the protection on the environment and pursue the sustainable economic development.

Free Research Field

マクロ経済学　環境経済学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年世界中で国境を越えた環境問題への関心が高まり，環境税を導入する国が増えている。この環境税は環境破壊を阻止するために経済活動を制限しようとするものであるが，一国だけの閉鎖経済とグローバル化した開放経済とでは，その国にとっての最適な課税法が異なったものとなる。貿易を考慮せずにその国の環境汚染や環境破壊を基にするのが生産地主義，生産でなく貿易も考慮した結果の消費を基にするのが消費地主義になる。浅子（2005，2009）では，2財について貿易を行う小国（非貿易財があっても結論は同様）での最適環境税としては消費地主義に軍配が上がるとしたが，これには条件があり，その妥当性・頑健性の一般化を試みた。