Re: [GreenYes] Glass, apples, oranges

[Helen Spiegelman <hspie@telus.net>]

One of the challenges of Pigovian taxes it seems to me is the matter of 
'elasticity of demand'. The tax has to be high enough to trigger changes in 
behaviour. If the costs are distributed too much then the hit to the 
individual consumer is below the threshold. Maybe this is an argument for 
applying the tax high in the value chain -- say, the Brand Owner who 
designs the product. Then its full force is felt at the point where it can 
drive change.

Helen.

At 09:39 AM 03/14/2002 -0600, Reindl, John wrote:
>But theory may be easier than practice. For example, one European study says
>that the environmental cost of a gram of mercury released to the environment
>is about $15. Assuming that this is correct (it seems low to me, given what
>we know of the polluting potential of mercury in lakes and streams), would
>it make sense to put a fee of $15 on each gram of mercury sold, and then use
>this money to pay rebates for mercury that is turned in?

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