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Subsidies

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Full-Text Articles in International Economics

Subsidizing Non-Polluting Goods Vs. Taxing Polluting Goods For Pollution Reduction, Robert S. Main May 2014

Subsidizing Non-Polluting Goods Vs. Taxing Polluting Goods For Pollution Reduction, Robert S. Main

Robert S. Main

Pigovian taxes on polluters are politically unpopular, but subsidies for non-polluting sources are politically attractive. This paper presents a linear demand and supply model and numerical example to explore the trade-offs between taxing polluting sources of a good versus subsidizing non-polluting sources of the same good. While the model (along with the associated numerical example) shows the optimality of Pigovian taxes, it also shows how much welfare is reduced if subsidies for nonpolluters are employed instead. Further, it shows the optimal tax, given any level of subsidy and the optimal subsidy, given any level of tax.


On The Political Substitutability Between Tariffs And Subsidies, Daniel Brou, Michele Ruta Dec 2008

On The Political Substitutability Between Tariffs And Subsidies, Daniel Brou, Michele Ruta

Daniel Brou

This paper provides a simple model that highlights the political substitutability between import tariffs and production subsidies.1 When taxes are distortionary, political pressures by domestic interest groups representing the import competing sector induce the government to set inefficiently high tariffs and subsidies. If the government commits the tariff to a lower level - for instance by signing a binding commitment in a trade agreement - interest groups demand (and in the political equilibrium obtain) a larger production subsidy. This political substitutability between tariffs and subsidies is shown to reduce social welfare.


Do R&D Programs Of Different Government Levels Overlap In The European Union?, Andrea Fernandez-Ribas, Isabel Busom Jan 2008

Do R&D Programs Of Different Government Levels Overlap In The European Union?, Andrea Fernandez-Ribas, Isabel Busom

Andrea Fernandez-Ribas

Multiple levels of government currently design and implement research and innovation programs both in the US and in Europe. Empirical analysis of interdependencies among programs has not been fully explored, however. Our contribution is a first step in understanding potential complementarities across R&D programs. Using a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms, we study the determinants of firms’ participation in national and in European level research programs and test for differences across programs. Our results suggest that firms’ participation in European and national R&D programs is largely driven by different factors. We interpret these results as suggesting that, ex-post, there is …