In view of the challenges posed by climate change and the increasingly ambitious climate targets around the world, the search
for effective climate policy instruments is gaining momentum. Carbon pricing, for example, in the form of a carbon tax, and
its effects are therefore attracting increasing attention in academic as well as policy discussions. We review the empirical
effects of carbon taxes with regard to several impact dimensions commonly studied in the literature: environmental effectiveness,
macroeconomic effects, impacts on competitiveness and innovation, distributional implications, and public acceptance. An increasing
body of empirical studies shows that carbon taxes can effectively reduce carbon emissions or at least dampen their growth
while not negatively affecting economic growth, employment, and competitiveness. The existing empirical evidence suggests
that the distributional impact of carbon taxes depends on the type of energy use and the indicators to capture distributional
effects, as well as on household characteristics. Lump-sum transfers are shown to be better suited to mitigate regressive
effects for lower incomes, while higher incomes benefit more from a reduction of labour taxes. Public acceptance of carbon
taxes can be increased by providing public information, avoiding negative distributional effects, and channelling part of
the revenues into "environmental projects".
in: Alberto Comelli, Janet E. Milne, Mikael Skou Anderson, Hope Ashiabor, Taxation and the Green Growth Challenge
Book chapters, contributions to collected volumes, Edward Elgar Publishing, August 2023, pp.99-112
Discussions about the reform of subsidies with negative climate impacts have been going on for decades in policy and research.
Such subsidies counteract climate protection efforts, contradict the polluter-pays principle, and reinforce market distortions
and the carbon lock-in. Based on a literature review, the paper summarises the results of a comprehensive bottom-up analysis
of direct subsidies and fiscal measures (indirect subsidies) that are granted on the federal level in Austria. The analysis
considers energy generation and use, transport, and agriculture and assesses the subsidies' legal foundations and original
motivations, the subsidy volumes and identifies the beneficiary groups. The quantification of the subsidies results in a range
of 4.1 to 5.7 billion € p.a. In addition, relevant regulatory provisions that have a subsidy character are examined. Considering
the environmental effectiveness, economic criteria (like distributional impacts) and potential legal constraints reform suggestions
are developed for the support measures.
To show how homeownership subsidies influence the distribution of population across space, I exploit the 2005 repeal of a
lump-sum real estate purchase subsidy in Germany. Using administrative data on population in local labor markets and IV-estimations
in difference-in-differences and triple differences frameworks, I find that repealing subsidies to homeownership recentralizes
regions. The effect is likely driven by families with children and young residents of "building-age" who no longer become
homeowners in the periphery. These results help inform our understanding of the spatial impacts of subsidizing homeownership.
Timo Wollmershäuser, Stefan Ederer, Maximilian Fell, Friederike Fourné, Max Lay, Robert Lehmann, Sebastian Link, Sascha Möhrle, Ann-Christin Rathje, Radek Šauer, Moritz Schasching, Marcus Scheiblecker, Lara Zarges
Commissioned by: ifo Institute – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich
Die deutsche Wirtschaft erfuhr im zurückliegenden Winterhalbjahr einen kräftigen Rücksetzer. Als Folge der hohen Inflation
schwächte sich die Nachfrage spürbar ab. Erst ab der zweiten Hälfte des laufenden Jahres dürften die Einkommen der privaten
Haushalte wieder stärker zulegen als die Preise und der private Konsum an Fahrt aufnehmen. Die Baukonjunktur wird sich im
gesamten Prognosezeitraum abkühlen, da der Anstieg der Baupreise nur langsam zurückgeht und die Kreditzinsen hoch bleiben.
Das Verarbeitende Gewerbe dürfte dank der hohen Auftragsbestände seine Produktion moderat ausweiten. Zusammengenommen wird
das Bruttoinlandsprodukt in den beiden Quartalen des Sommerhalbjahres 2023 wohl nur schwach um 0,1% bzw. 0,2% gegenüber dem
Vorquartal expandieren. Ab Ende des Jahres dürfte sich die Konjunktur dann wieder erholen und die Wirtschaft mit kräftigeren
Raten zulegen. Alles in allem wird das Bruttoinlandsprodukt in diesem Jahr wohl um 0,4% zurückgehen und im kommenden Jahr
um 1,5% zunehmen. Die Inflationsrate dürfte von 6,9% im Jahr 2022 auf 5,8% im Jahr 2023 und 2,1% im Jahr 2024 sinken.
Constantinos Syropoulos, Gabriel Felbermayr, Aleksandra Kirilakha, Erdal Yalcin, Yoto V. Yotov
This paper introduces the third update or release of the Global Sanctions Data Base (GSDB-R3). The GSDB-R3 extends the period
of coverage from 1950-2019 to 1950-2022, which includes two special periods – COVID-19 and the new sanctions against Russia.
This update of the GSDB contains a total of 1,325 cases. In response to multiple inquiries and requests, the GSDB-R3 has been
amended with a new variable that distinguishes between unilateral and multilateral sanctions. As before, the GSDB comes in
two versions, case-specific and dyadic, which are freely available upon request at GSDB@drexel.edu. To highlight one of the
new features of the GSDB, we estimate the heterogeneous effects of unilateral and multilateral sanctions on trade. We also
obtain estimates of the effects on trade of the 2014 sanctions on Russia.
