Yellow Vests, Pessimistic Beliefs, and Carbon Tax Aversion

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Douenne, Thomas; Fabre, Adrien
• 署名单位: Paris School of Economics; University of Amsterdam; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; ETH Zurich
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-ECONOMIC POLICY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7731
• DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200092
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 81-110
• 关键词: redistribution evidence; public acceptance; CLIMATE-CHANGE; green taxes; preferences; acceptability; perceptions; responses; REFORM

摘要

Using a representative survey, we find that after the Yellow Vests movement, French people would largely reject a tax and dividend policy, i.e., a carbon tax whose revenues are redistributed uniformly to each adult. They overestimate their net monetary losses, wrongly think that the policy is regressive, and do not perceive it as environmentally effective. We show that changing people's beliefs can substantially increase support. Although significant, the effects of our informational treatments on beliefs are small. Indeed, the respondents that oppose the tax tend to discard positive information about it, which is consistent with distrust, uncertainty, or motivated reasoning. (JEL D83, H23, H31, Q54, Q58)