Impact of selected abatement strategies on transnational pollution, the terms of trade, and factor rewards: a general equilibrium approach

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:5440884

Merrifield, J D

This dissertation develops a general equilibrium approach for analyzing the economic impacts of selected pollution abatement strategies. The model includes internationally mobile goods, capital, and pollution flows, and flexible output and factor prices. The general equilibrium approach provides policymakers with important information which is usually not revealed by a partial equilibrium approach. That is demonstrated by applying the model to the North American acid deposition issue. Five abatement strategies are analyzed with the model. Tariff, production tax, and abatement equipment standard strategies are analyzed with the basic model. Extensions of the basic model facilitate an analysis of the emissions' tax and the US east-west coal switching strategies. The welfare implications of each are discussed. The analysis suggests that effective, unilateral action to abate an internationally mobile pollutant is possible with an open economy and internationally mobile capital. However, under those circumstances it is possible for an abatement strategy to increase rather than decrease pollution in one or both countries. That counter-intuitive result emerges a number of times when the model is applied to the North American acid-deposition issue. Another noteworthy, counter-intuitive result is that Canada has one more effective, unilateral abatement strategy than the US has.

• Research Organization: Wyoming Univ., Laramie (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5440884
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
290300 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
520200 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACID RAIN
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CANADA
ECONOMIC IMPACT
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NORTH AMERICA
POLLUTION
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
RAIN
TARIFFS
TAXES
TRANSFRONTIER POLLUTION
USA