Title: Choice of environmental policy instruments and welfare in middle-income countries: the case of Cote d'Ivoire

Authors: Boka S.K. Assa; Zie Ballo; Mbaye Diene

Addresses: Ivoirian Centre of Economic and Social Research (CIRES), Economic Policy Analysis Unit of CIRES (CAPEC), University Felix Houphouet Boigny of Cocody, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire ' Department of Economics and Management, University Felix Houphouet Boigny of Cocody, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire ' Department of Economics and Management, University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to determine among pollution taxes, rules and combination of rules-taxes instrument, one that allows increasing welfare in MICs that face economic and environmental shocks. To do this, we used a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model whose parameters are estimated on the Ivoirian economy by the Bayesian method. Results of welfare comparison under three regimes show, on the one hand, that when public abatement spending is effective, welfare under pollution taxes is higher than pure rules if shocks are strong. But when rules are combined with output taxes for public clearance spending (mixed instrument), welfare under this mixed instrument becomes better than pollution taxes regardless of the type of shock. On the other hand, when the government intervention is inefficient, welfare under pollution taxes is almost equivalent to pure rules but remains lower than the mixed instrument.

Keywords: economic and environmental shocks; environmental policy instruments; general equilibrium; middle-income countries; Cote d'Ivoire.

DOI: 10.1504/AJESD.2020.105660

African Journal of Economic and Sustainable Development, 2020 Vol.7 No.3, pp.185 - 216

Received: 28 Sep 2018
Accepted: 29 Nov 2018
Published online: 09 Mar 2020 *

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