78362 - Taxation Policies and Environmental Issues

Learning outcomes

The course starts with an exposition of the different market failures (externalities, public goods, market power, asymmetric information), with emphasis on tourism and environmental issues. The course then focuses on taxation policies as remedy to market inefficiencies. After a general introduction on taxation principles, the student will learn the most advances in environmental taxation in promoting green growth as well as the most recent applications of taxation on tourism sector (road tax, tourist tax, congestion pricing).

Course contents

1 Introduction

Reasons for government interventions. Market failures. Normative vs positive economics. Paternalism vs individual failures.

2 Externalities and Public Goods

Problems and Solutions. Environmental and Health Externalities. Applications to tourism sector.

3 Principal indices of public finance

Taxes and spending: descriptive statistics. Government budgeting.

4 Taxation in Theory and Practice

4.1 Taxation in Europe and around the world

4.2 Tax inefficiencies and their implications for optimal taxation

4.3 The equity implications of taxation: income distribution, transfers, welfare programs

4.4 Tax incidence

4.5 Taxes on labor supply, consumption, savings.

4.6 Taxation and tourism market

5 Sustainability paradigms (e.g., Economic general equilibrium vs. Ecosystem services, Weak vs. strong sustainability, de-growth vs. a-growth)

6 Sustainability issues (e.g., duty, equity, efficiency, justice)

7 Renewable resources

8 Non-renewable resources

9 Pollutions

10 Policies for resource uses (e.g., regulations, taxes, subsidies)

11 Policies for pollution productions (e.g., taxes, subsidies, standards, permits)

Readings/Bibliography

Jonathan Gruber, Public Finance and Public Policy, Fifth Edition, 2016, Worth Publishers, Chapter: 1,2,4,6,7,18, 19, 20, 21, 22.

D.W.Pearce and R.K.Turner, Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment, Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf

Assessment methods

Written examination, 90 minutes long and based on 3 questions. Notes or other materials are not allowed.

Teaching tools

Zagonari, F. (2016) Four Sustainability Paradigms for Environmental Management: A Methodological Analysis and an Empirical Study Based on 30 Italian Industries, Sustainability 8: 1-34

van den Bergh, J.C.J.M. (2011) Environment versus growth - a criticism of de-growth and a plea for a-growth, Ecological Economics 70: 881-890

Kallis, G. (2011) In defence of de-growth, Ecological Economics 70: 873-880

Dietz, S., Neumayer, E. (2007) Weak and strong sustainability in the SEEA: concepts and measurement, Ecological Economics 61: 617-626

Koukouzelis, K. (2012) Sustainable development, liberty, and global social justice, Public Reason 4: 165-181

Zagonari, F. (2017) Coherence, causality, and effectiveness of the EU environmental policy system: results of complementary statistical and econometric analyses, Environmental and Resource Economics

Office hours

See the website of Fabio Zagonari

See the website of Emanuela Randon