Improving the Environment through Reducing Subsidies
Subtitle: Part III: Case Studies
By: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Published: 2000
Place of publication: Paris
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource]:
Number of pages: 272
ISBN-13: 9789264180185
Subjects: Ecology; Euthenics; Nature and nurture; Adaptation (Biology)
Description: Substantial amounts of money continue to be spent in OECD countries on measures to support agriculture, energy, transportation and industrial activities. Many of these support measures encourage the emission of environmentally harmful pollutants, the generation of waste, and the excessive use of natural resources; and they constitute a large drain on government budgets. In addition, much of the money spent on support may not reach the intended recipients as it can leak away to other sectors of the economy instead. As such, it is likely that the reform or removal of these subsidies could lead to "win-win" benefits through increased economic efficiency, reduced government spending and improved environmental quality. This publication compiles eight case studies undertaken as part of an OECD study on how economic support measures actually affect the economy and, as a result, the environment. These case studies analyse the effects of particular support schemes and/or the possibilities for their reform. The objective is to further develop understanding of how the combination of the particular elements of a support scheme, the sector it is applied in, and other factors impact on the environment. A wide range of sectors are examined, including agriculture, energy, transport, industry, and metals production.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Overview of the Case Studies; title: The Effects of Taxes and Support on Marginal Costs: Quantitative Illustrations by Duanjie Chen; title: Environmental Impacts of Agricultural Support: Cereal Irrigation in France by Pierre Rainelli and Dominique Vermersch; title: Environmental Effects of Changes in Taxation and Support to Agriculture by John Helming and Floor Brouwer; title: Effective Tax Rates on the Marginal Costs of Different Modes of Freight Transport by Gonzaque Pillet; title: Energy Support Measures and their Environmental Effect: Decisive Parameters for Subsidy Removal by Herman Vollebergh; title: Effects of Government Subsidies on the Environment: The Case of Electricity and Newsprint Production from of Swedish Perspective by Goran Normann, Peter Fritz, andPer Erik Springfeldt; title: Environmental and Economic Effects of Support to the Austrian Pulp and Paper Industry by Michael Obersteiner, Sten Nilsson and Andreas Worgotter; title: Competitiveness and Reduction of Support Measures to Industry: The Prisoners' Dilemma by Harmen Verbruggen and Frans Oosterhuis