Carbon pricing, compensation and competitiveness: lessons from UK manufacturing
Link to article:
Authors:
Basaglia, Piero, Elisabeth T. Isaksen, Misato Sato
Year:
2024
Reference:
Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy Working Paper No. 431 ISSN 2515-5709 (Online) Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment Working Paper No. 406 ISSN 2515-5717 (Online)Summary
Carbon pricing is often paired with compensation to carbon-intensive firms to mitigate carbon leakage risk. This paper examines the causal impacts of compensation payments for indirect carbon costs embodied in electricity prices. We use confidential UK administrative microdata to exploit firm-level inclusion criteria in both difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity frameworks. Our findings suggest that compensated firms increased production and electricity use relative to uncompensated firms, with no significant effect on energy intensity. While compensation lowers leakage risk, it also implies large forgone opportunity costs of public funds and increased mitigation costs of meeting national emission targets.
JEL:
Q52, Q58, Q4, Q41, H23
Keywords:
carbon pricing, compensation schemes, competitiveness, electricity consumption
Project:
Oppdragsgiver: NFR via CICEROOppdragsgivers prosjektnr.: 295789
Frisch prosjekt: 3186 - PLATON