[go: up one dir, main page]
More Web Proxy on the site http://driver.im/
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/isu/genstf/201505010700001042.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Optimal health and environmental policies in a pollution-growth nexus

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Min
  • Zhao, Jinhua
  • Bhattacharya, Joydeep
Abstract
This paper shows how policies aimed at insuring health risks and those intended to improve the environment are (and should be) deeply intertwined. In the model economy inspired by recent Chinese experience, pollution raises the likelihood of future, poor health prompting households to save more so as to self-insure against anticipated medical expenses. Increased household saving generates more capital while capital use by firms generates more pollution. Along the transition, such a “pollution-growth nexus” may be attractive from a capital-accumulation perspective; however, rising pollution, via the health channel, hurts welfare. Both insurance and environmental policies affect capital accumulation and can have additional dynamic benefits. The availability of private health insurance to top up pay-as-you-go coverage of medical bills along with a Pigouvian tax on emissions and a profit tax can replicate the first best.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Min & Zhao, Jinhua & Bhattacharya, Joydeep, 2015. "Optimal health and environmental policies in a pollution-growth nexus," ISU General Staff Papers 201505010700001042, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:isu:genstf:201505010700001042
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/38b402e0-1149-4006-bf5a-cd7a031e1962/content
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mariani, Fabio & Pérez-Barahona, Agustín & Raffin, Natacha, 2010. "Life expectancy and the environment," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 798-815, April.
    2. Goenka, A. & Jafarey, S. & Pouliot, W., 2012. "Pollution, mortality and optimal environmental policy," Working Papers 12/07, Department of Economics, City University London.
    3. Fernández, Esther & Pérez, Rafaela & Ruiz, Jesús, 2012. "The environmental Kuznets curve and equilibrium indeterminacy," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 1700-1717.
    4. Altug,Sumru & Labadie,Pamela, 2008. "Asset Pricing for Dynamic Economies," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521875851.
    5. X. Pautrel, 2008. "Reconsidering the Impact of the Environment on Long-run Growth when Pollution Influences Health and Agents have a Finite-lifetime," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 40(1), pages 37-52, May.
    6. Marcos D. Chamon & Eswar S. Prasad, 2010. "Why Are Saving Rates of Urban Households in China Rising?," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 93-130, January.
    7. Evans, Mary F. & Smith, V. Kerry, 2005. "Do new health conditions support mortality-air pollution effects?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 496-518, November.
    8. Zheng Song, 2011. "The Dynamics of Inequality and Social Security in General Equilibrium," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 14(4), pages 613-635, October.
    9. Fabio Mariani & Agustin Perez Barahona & Natacha Raffin, 2010. "Life expectancy and the environment," Post-Print hal-00638730, HAL.
    10. Larry G. Epstein & Stanley E. Zin, 2013. "Substitution, risk aversion and the temporal behavior of consumption and asset returns: A theoretical framework," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 12, pages 207-239, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    11. Williams, Roberton III, 2002. "Environmental Tax Interactions when Pollution Affects Health or Productivity," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 261-270, September.
    12. Pierre-André Jouvet & Pierre Pestieau & Gregory Ponthiere, 2010. "Longevity and environmental quality in an OLG model," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 100(3), pages 191-216, July.
    13. Ono, Tetsuo, 1996. "Optimal tax schemes and the environmental externality," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 283-289, December.
    14. Laurence J. Kotlikoff, 1989. "What Determines Savings?," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262611872, April.
    15. Susanne Soretz, 2003. "Stochastic Pollution and Environmental Care in an Endogenous Growth Model," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 71(4), pages 448-469, July.
    16. Bovenberg, A Lans & Smulders, Sjak A, 1996. "Transitional Impacts of Environmental Policy in an Endogenous Growth Model," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 37(4), pages 861-893, November.
    17. Palivos, Theodore & Varvarigos, Dimitrios, 2017. "Pollution Abatement As A Source Of Stabilization And Long-Run Growth," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(3), pages 644-676, April.
    18. Lans Bovenberg, A. & Smulders, Sjak, 1995. "Environmental quality and pollution-augmenting technological change in a two-sector endogenous growth model," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 369-391, July.
    19. Robert E. Hall & Charles I. Jones, 2007. "The Value of Life and the Rise in Health Spending," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(1), pages 39-72.
    20. Xavier Pautrel, 2012. "Pollution, Private Investment in Healthcare, and Environmental Policy," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 114(2), pages 334-357, June.
    21. Michael G. Palumbo, 1999. "Uncertain Medical Expenses and Precautionary Saving Near the End of the Life Cycle," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 66(2), pages 395-421.
    22. Mariani, Fabio & Pérez-Barahona, Agustín & Raffin, Natacha, 2010. "Life expectancy and the environment," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 798-815, April.
    23. de Bovenberg, A Lans & Mooij, Ruud A, 1994. "Environmental Levies and Distortionary Taxation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 1085-1089, September.
    24. John, A & Pecchenino, R, 1994. "An Overlapping Generations Model of Growth and the Environment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(427), pages 1393-1410, November.
    25. Wagstaff, Adam, 1986. "The demand for health : Some new empirical evidence," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 195-233, September.
    26. Browning, Martin & Hansen, Lars Peter & Heckman, James J., 1999. "Micro data and general equilibrium models," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 8, pages 543-633, Elsevier.
    27. Azomahou, Theophile & Soete, Luc & Diene, Bity & Diene, Mbaye, 2012. "Optimal health investment with separable and non-separable preferences," MERIT Working Papers 2012-047, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    28. Mani, Muthukumara & Markandya, Anil & Sagar, Aarsi & Strukova, Elena, 2012. "An analysis of physical and monetary losses of environmental health and natural resources in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6219, The World Bank.
    29. Alwyn Young, 2003. "Gold into Base Metals: Productivity Growth in the People's Republic of China during the Reform Period," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(6), pages 1220-1261, December.
    30. Fabio Mariani & Agustin Perez Barahona & Natacha Raffin, 2010. "Life expectancy and the environment," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) hal-00638730, HAL.
    31. John, A. & Pecchenino, R. & Schimmelpfennig, D. & Schreft, S., 1995. "Short-lived agents and the long-lived environment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 127-141, September.
    32. Raymond Gradus & Sjak Smulders, 1993. "The trade-off between environmental care and long-term growth—Pollution in three prototype growth models," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 25-51, February.
    33. Gruver, Gene W., 1976. "Optimal investment in pollution control capital in a neoclassical growth context," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 165-177, October.
    34. Kijima, Masaaki & Nishide, Katsumasa & Ohyama, Atsuyuki, 2010. "Economic models for the environmental Kuznets curve: A survey," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1187-1201, July.
    35. Stokey, Nancy L, 1998. "Are There Limits to Growth?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 39(1), pages 1-31, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nguyen Thang Dao & Kerstin Burghaus & Ottmar Edenhofer, 2017. "Self-Enforcing Intergenerational Social Contracts for Pareto Improving Pollution Mitigation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 68(1), pages 129-173, September.
    2. Xavier Pautrel, 2018. "Environmental Policy and Health in the Presence of Labor Market Imperfections," TEPP Working Paper 2018-09, TEPP.
    3. Sichao Wei & David Aadland, 2021. "Pollution permits, green taxes, and the environmental poverty trap," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 1032-1052, May.
    4. Varvarigos, Dimitrios, 2023. "Cultural persistence in corruption, economic growth, and the environment," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    5. Xiao, Bowen & Fan, Ying & Guo, Xiaodan & Xiang, Lin, 2022. "Re-evaluating environmental tax: An intergenerational perspective on health, education and retirement," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    6. Dong, Qichen & Chen, Fanglin & Chen, Zhongfei, 2020. "Airports and air pollutions: Empirical evidence from China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 385-395.
    7. Natacha Raffin & Thomas Seegmuller, 2017. "The Cost of Pollution on Longevity, Welfare and Economic Stability," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 68(3), pages 683-704, November.
    8. Yasuhiro Nakamoto & Akihiko Yanase, 2022. "Pollution externalities and corrective taxes in a dynamic small open economy," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(3), pages 667-703, June.
    9. Lucas Bretschger & Alexandra Vinogradova, 2017. "Human Development at Risk: Economic Growth with Pollution-Induced Health Shocks," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 66(3), pages 481-495, March.
    10. Hassan, Mahmoud & Oueslati, Walid & Rousselière, Damien, 2020. "Environmental taxes, reforms and economic growth: an empirical analysis of panel data," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 44(3).
    11. Dao, Nguyen Thang & Edenhofer, Ottmar, 2018. "On the fiscal strategies of escaping poverty-environment traps towards sustainable growth," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 253-273.
    12. Goenka, Aditya & Jafarey, Saqib & Pouliot, William, 2020. "Pollution, mortality and time consistent abatement taxes," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 1-15.
    13. Andersen, Torben M. & Bhattacharya, Joydeep & Liu, Pan, 2020. "Resolving intergenerational conflict over the environment under the Pareto criterion," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    14. Abdulla, Eman & Lim, King Yoong & Morris, Diego & Saliba, Faten, 2022. "Climate Change, Gender Equality, and Firm-Level Innovation : Cross-Country Evidence," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1429, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    15. Andersen, Torben M. & Bhattacharya, Joydeep & Liu, Pan, 2018. "A way to resolve intergenerational conflict over the environment under the Pareto criterion using green bonds," ISU General Staff Papers 201808240700001070, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    16. Wei-Bin Zhang, 2015. "Oscillations in a Growth Model with Capital, Technology and Environment with Exogenous Shocks," Academicus International Scientific Journal, Entrepreneurship Training Center Albania, issue 12, pages 73-93, July.
    17. Lucas Bretschger & Elise Grieg & Paul J. J. Welfens & Tian Xiong, 2020. "COVID-19 infections and fatalities developments: empirical evidence for OECD countries and newly industrialized economies," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 801-847, October.
    18. Zhao Zhang & Caoyuan Ma & Aiping Wang, 2023. "Environmental Governance, Public Health Expenditure, and Economic Growth: Analysis in an OLG Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-21, February.
    19. Lin, Zifei & Xu, Wei & Yue, Xiaole & Han, Qun, 2017. "Study on the effect of environmental pollution based on a fractional derivative resource depletion model," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 705-715.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Goenka, Aditya & Jafarey, Saqib & Pouliot, William, 2020. "Pollution, mortality and time consistent abatement taxes," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 1-15.
    2. Wang, Min, 2010. "Essays on Environment, Natural Resource, Growth and Development," ISU General Staff Papers 201001010800002824, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    3. Carlotta Balestra & Davide Dottori, 2012. "Aging society, health and the environment," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(3), pages 1045-1076, July.
    4. Lucas Bretschger & Alexandra Vinogradova, 2017. "Human Development at Risk: Economic Growth with Pollution-Induced Health Shocks," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 66(3), pages 481-495, March.
    5. Aditya Goenka & Saqib Jafarey & William Pouliot, 2012. "Pollution, Mortality and Optimal Environmental Policy," Discussion Papers 12-05, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.
    6. Dugan, Anna & Prskawetz, Alexia & Raffin, Natacha, 2022. "The Environment, Life Expectancy and Growth in Overlapping Generations Models: A Survey," ECON WPS - Working Papers in Economic Theory and Policy 01/2022, TU Wien, Institute of Statistics and Mathematical Methods in Economics, Economics Research Unit.
    7. Dao, Nguyen Thang & Edenhofer, Ottmar, 2018. "On the fiscal strategies of escaping poverty-environment traps towards sustainable growth," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 253-273.
    8. Aloi, Marta & Tournemaine, Frederic, 2011. "Growth effects of environmental policy when pollution affects health," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 1683-1695, July.
    9. Natacha Raffin, 2012. "Children’s environmental health, education, and economic development," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(3), pages 996-1022, August.
    10. Karine Constant & Natacha Raffin, 2016. "Environnement, croissance et inégalités : le rôle particulier du canal de la santé," Revue française d'économie, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 0(3), pages 9-29.
    11. Fabio Mariani & Agustin Perez Barahona & Natacha Raffin, 2019. "Population and the environment: the role of fertility, education and life expectancy," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2019008, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    12. Evangelos V. Dioikitopoulos & Sugata Ghosh & Eugenia Vella, 2016. "Technological Progress, Time Perception and Environmental Sustainability," Working Papers 2016002, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    13. Karine Constant & Natacha Raffin, 2016. "Environnement, croissance et inégalités : le rôle particulier du canal de la santé," Revue française d'économie, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 0(3), pages 9-29.
    14. Mouez Fodha & Thomas Seegmuller, 2014. "Environmental Quality, Public Debt and Economic Development," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 57(4), pages 487-504, April.
    15. Karine Constant, 2015. "Environmental Policy and Inequality: A Matter of Life and Death," AMSE Working Papers 1527, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    16. Wei-Bin Zhang, 2015. "Oscillations in a Growth Model with Capital, Technology and Environment with Exogenous Shocks," Academicus International Scientific Journal, Entrepreneurship Training Center Albania, issue 12, pages 73-93, July.
    17. Vella, Eugenia & Dioikitopoulos, Evangelos V. & Kalyvitis, Sarantis, 2015. "Green Spending Reforms, Growth, And Welfare With Endogenous Subjective Discounting," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(6), pages 1240-1260, September.
    18. repec:hal:wpaper:halshs-00555625 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-00555625 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Andreas Schaefer, 2016. "Survival to Adulthood and the Growth Drag of Pollution," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 16/241, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    21. Andreas Schaefer, 2020. "Inequality, survival to adulthood, and the growth drag of pollution," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 72(1), pages 59-79.
    22. repec:hal:pseose:hal-01095463 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Constant, Karine & Nourry, Carine & Seegmuller, Thomas, 2014. "Population growth in polluting industrialization," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 229-247.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E2 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:isu:genstf:201505010700001042. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Curtis Balmer (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deiasus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.