Introduction
A key cause of climate change is the failure of the market system to efficiently allocate resources to deal with extensive negative externalities, specifically those caused by carbon – based gases polluting the atmosphere. Failure in the market system is having a extravagant impact on atmosphere. The allocation of resources is affecting the environment but more specifically the carbon based gases are polluting the atmosphere. This is resulting in global climate change. Potential solutions will be analysed throughout this essay to prevent market failure. The solutions that will be considered are environmental taxation, government regulation and trading in marketable permits e.g. carbon credit market.
Market Failure
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Market failure is portrayed through this diagram as the optimum output is higher then the equilibrium resulting with spillover costs.
Property rights enable the parties to place a price tag on externality through negotiation, creating opportunities for both sides. The owner of property rights can negotiate with the party causing the negative externality. The owner will seek compensation for the cost of the externality (Jackson, Mciver, Bajada 2007:209). This is another issue regarding over allocating resources, as property is a commonly held resource. The externalities involved with property rights can be good for both sides. Depending on the negotiation the owner can cause negative externality because they have property rights and can decide what to do with the property. The party involved will seek compensation for the externality but this can lead to a reduction in output. So properties are another resource where market failure can occur.
Environmental taxation
Environmental taxation is when the government taxes items that are effecting the environment to cover the externality cost. The government taxes mostly on carbon based emissions as they are a major contributor to the climate change. Automobiles are a major contribution to effecting the environment. As shown below cars are the highest percentage on impacting the climate.
Producers and consumers of automobiles are not required to compensate
The world economy is a very complex system; in the system harmful externalities disrupt capital flows and determine economic productivity. Most notable of these externalities is inadvertent global warming. Spending towards research and regulation of climate change at both the national and international level are very important in determining current and future business trends. Economists and scientists worldwide continuously debate the pros and cons of emissions reduction and what consequences can quickly follow. Though many have different views on the issue, all can agree that the immediate and long term effects of climate change have become an economic matter of paramount importance. The sweeping impact from climate change will have important fiscal, financial, and macroeconomic ramifications that influence global commerce standards.
The argument about man’s role in climate change and the role of government, the role of industry and the role of citizens is a significant challenge that crosses all levels of government, crosses all geopolitical boundaries and crosses all sectors of business. National governments across the globe are dealing with the issue in different ways, but one overarching aspect of control and mitigation can be seen in the oversight and regulation of the electric energy industry. One significant challenge facing each nation is the cost to lower carbon emissions and the question of who will pay the additional cost for compliance. Though the cost issue is significant, a much more difficult question is whether any decision on lowering emissions can make
b. The possible reason of the externality being a cause of this could be the fact that if other people follow suit there will be an oversupply of the same kind of a service which may further lead to the market failure
Externalities and Market Power. Externalaties are byproducts of a product.Exteranlities can lead to a failure because buyers and sellers do not consider the side effects, which can lead to imbalance in equilibrium based on a societal standpoint. Market Power occurs when there is a single buyer and seller (or small group of them) with the ability to control market prices. This can lead to failure because it keeps prices and quantity away from the equilibrium of supply and demand.
The issue of carbon emissions is an important one not only from an environmental perspective but also an economic one. While reducing carbon emissions is an important one for the health of human beings as well as that of the environment, the larger question is what type of policy strategy is best for both reducing such emissions which might have an impact on efforts to mitigate the effects of pollution on climate change. While ther are options to consider which does not rely on economics-- technological or output standards achieved by command and control regulations--they are often fraught with political resistance by industry because they do not allow industry to make any choices or play a role in solving the problem of
Government intervention corrects market failure resulting in environmental sustainability and improved accessibility to services. Goods or services with negative externalities are market failures because the operation of the price mechanism
Government enacted solutions are probably the most effective ways to reduce carbon emissions and to control pollution since unfortunately the majority of individuals mainly act to their own self-interest and are not concerned with the future of the planet. This is a prime example of the tragedy of the commons, which is the exploitation of a common resource. In this case the common resource is the atmosphere. The first method proposed is the carbon cap trade system. The term cap means the limit or the maximum of the amount of pollutant to be emitted. A trade refers to the transfer of permits that have to be bought by firms that need to increase their volume of emissions from firms that require fewer permits 1. The carbon tax method is a tax on the carbon content of fuels — effectively a tax on the carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels 2. So, which system would be best for the government to enact to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere?
In Australia, there is an emerging consensus that the government should take further actions to help mitigate and combat climate change. The current most accepted policy by government is the introduction of a carbon tax followed by an ETS in 2015. However we are focusing on the carbon tax in this essay and not the ETS. Here is a brief explanation of the dynamics of a carbon tax. A carbon tax is a tax on energy sources, which emit carbon dioxide (Co2). Therefore, carbon taxes address the problem of negative externality. Externalities are the subsequent effects when individual production or consumption of a particular good or service imposes costs or benefits on others. Therefore negative externalities are effects, which pose harm to others without their direct interaction (Basic Economics 2011). However, usual market practices and transactions do not reflect these cost and benefits in the prices involved in the transaction, or take into account in their transaction decision. Therefore this is a form of market failure. By imposing a cost on these negative externalities, the hidden cost can be addressed. Ultimately the purpose of a carbon tax is to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and therefore reduce
In February 2011, the Australian federal government declared a scheme to implement a Carbon Tax from July 1, 2012. Implementing this scheme has generated a controversial debate between Australians. The term “Carbon tax” refers to an environmental tax forcing polluters to pay per ton of carbon which they release into the atmosphere. This essay will provide the economical, social and political implication of carbon taxes, also with its introduction who will benefit and who would suffer.
What are some areas where the MARKET fails to give us adequate quantity of output and desirable price??
Competition failure or monopoly may result from natural monopoly where it costs incurred in production becomes lower when only one firm is involved in production than several firms producing the same output. In a monopolist market under-production, higher prices become dominant contributing to market inefficiency. Winston cites cases of misuse of monopoly power can lead to market failures and sometimes may lead to acute shortage of essential commodities (130).
Markets are the institutions where the exchange of goods and services among individuals collective agents occurs. The exchange of these goods and services utilizes money as the medium through which equivalence of worth and value is given to the goods and services (Keech and Munger 4). This leads to the formation of prices given for the goods and services. Additionally, markets may be categorized in accordance with the commodities and services traded in them where these categories entail financial markets, labor markets, and housing markets. Similarly, the scope under which these items are traded may provide another level of categorization where some may occur throughout a region, nationally or internationally (Pinotti 2). These may be coupled with categorization in terms of structure where various entities include competitive markets, oligopolistic markets, and monopolistic markets.
Regulations imposed by the government in any economy determine the market efficiency and growth. Policies and laws governing the flow of goods and out flow determined the internal trade affairs. When the government formulates policies and regulations, which is the market conducive, efficiency is enhanced. In such instances, the outcomes of the market yields can be predicted. Such ability of the policies and regulations to enhance efficiency in the markets can be enabling the government to have prior arrangements and plans concerning future economic goals. On the other hand, as the governing body there is a need to establish the effectiveness of the current policies in enhancing marketing efficiency. However, there is a need to establish the criteria for determining the correctness and effectiveness of the regulations which are to be set. Governing body should intervene in the control of the market regulations though independent bodies and private sectors should be involved in such regulations formulations. Many economies, such the United states and United Kingdom, the government has the power to intervene in the market policies. When the market fails in such instances, the government is blamed for the failure. The modern economies advocates for more freedom of choice in the formulation of regulations of the markets. Others concentrate on the efficiency of the policies and regulations in the achievement of the market goals.
Pollution, specifically global warming, is of growing concern to people and governments. It is a controversial issue whose validity is still being debated by scientists. The Kyoto Protocol is an international attempt to address global warming through emissions controls. Traditional neoclassical economic models do not incorporate pollution in rudimentary theories of supply, demand, or pricing, as a result, firms do not consider pollution as a cost of production, which leaves government regulation as the primary method for controlling these externalities. The goal of emissions trading is to allow one business, which can make greenhouse gas emission reductions for a relatively low cost, to sell
externalities keep the market from reaching allocative efficiency because the gains or losses generated are external to the pricing system; they are unpriceable. The transaction costs of externalities misallocation of resources or a failure of the market economy to generate a Pareto optimum. positive externalities 3 types of interventions the government may engage in: