The Use of Regression Statistics to Analyze Imperfect Pricing Policies

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Jacobsen, Mark R.; Knittel, Christopher R.; Sallee, James M.; van Benthem, Arthur A.
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California San Diego; National Bureau of Economic Research; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); University of California System; University of California Berkeley; University of Pennsylvania
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-3808
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 1826-1876
• 关键词: ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS; greenhouse-gas; taxable income; EFFICIENCY; energy; pollution; tax; MARKETS; cars; externalities

摘要

Corrective taxes can solve many market failures, but actual policies frequently deviate from the theoretical ideal because of administrative or political constraints. We present a method to quantify the efficiency costs of constraints on externality-correcting policies or, more generally, the costs of imperfect pricing, using simple regression statistics. Under certain conditions, the R-2 and the sum of squared residuals from a regression of true externalities on policy variables measure relative welfare gains from policies. We illustrate via four empirical applications: random mismeasurement of externalities, imperfect electricity pricing, heterogeneity in the longevity of energy-consuming durable goods, and imperfect spatial policy differentiation.