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Fotios Kalantzis
,
Salma Khalid
,
Alexandra Solovyeva
, and
Marcin Wolski
Using a novel cross-country dataset, which merges firm-level financials with information on firms’ participation in the European Unions’ Emissions Trading System (ETS), we investigate how firm performance is affected by tightening of environmental policies that put a price on pollution. We find that more stringent policies do not have a strong negative impact on the profitability of ETS-regulated or non-ETS firms. While firms report an increase in their input costs during periods of high carbon prices, their reported turnover is also higher. Among ETS-regulated firms which must purchase emission certificates under the EU ETS, tightening of climate policies in periods of high carbon prices results in increased investment, particularly in intangible assets. We establish robustness of our results using a quantile regression analysis, ensuring our key findings are not driven by distributional irregularities. Our findings provide support for the benefits of EU ETS on accelerating firms’ climate transition, while keeping firm-level financial costs at bay.
Davide Furceri
,
Michael Ganslmeier
, and
Mr. Jonathan David Ostry
Are policies designed to avert climate change (Climate Change Policies, or CCPs) politically costly? Using data on governmental popular support and the OECD’s Environmental Stringency Index, we find that CCPs are not necessarily politically costly: policy design matters. First, only market-based CCPs (such as emission taxes) generate negative effects on popular support. Second, the effects are muted in countries where non-green (dirty) energy is a relatively small input into production. Third, political costs are not significant when CCPs are implemented during periods of low oil prices, generous social insurance and low inequality.
Mr. John Norregaard
and
Ms. Valerie Reppelin
This paper examines the relative merits of two dominant economic instruments for reducing pollution—”green” taxes and tradable permits. Theoretically, the two instruments share many similarities, and on balance, neither seems preferable to the other. In practice, however, most countries have relied more on taxes than on permits to control pollution. The analysis suggests a number of lessons to be learned from country experiences regarding the design and implementation of both instruments. While many, particularly European countries, currently have long-term programs involving environmental taxes, a willingness to experiment with tradable permits seems to be growing, especially given the Kyoto protocol emission targets.

Abstract

Microeconomic policies, dealing with individual industries and economic sectors, have traditionally addressed environmental concerns, but increasingly the environment is being viewed in terms of the macro economy. To improve its understanding of the interrelationship between macroeconomics and the environment, the IMF held a seminar in May 1995 at which recognized experts from academic and research institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and staff from the World Bank and the IMF shared their views on how macroeconomic policies affect the environment and how environmental policies affect the macro economy. The present volume, edited by Ved P. Gandhi, contains the papers and proceedings of this seminar.