TY  - JOUR
AU  - Nordhaus,William
TI  - Life After Kyoto: Alternative Approaches to Global Warming
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 11889
PY  - 2005
Y2  - December 2005
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11889
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11889.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
William D. Nordhaus
Yale University, Department of Economics
28 Hillhouse Avenue
Box 208264
New Haven, CT  06520-8264
Tel: 203/432-3598
Fax: 203/432-5779
E-Mail: william.nordhaus@yale.edu
AB  - This study reviews different approaches to the political and economic control of global public goods like global warming. It compares quantity-oriented control mechanisms like the Kyoto Protocol with price-type control mechanisms such as internationally harmonized carbon taxes. The pros and cons of the two approaches are compared, focusing on such issues as performance under conditions of uncertainty, volatility of the induced carbon prices, the excess burden of taxation and regulation, potential for corruption and accounting finagling, and ease of implementation. It concludes that, although virtually all discussions about economic global public goods have analyzed quantitative approaches, price-type approaches are likely to be more effective and more efficient.
ER  -