Regional patterns of U.S. household carbon emissions
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Market-based policies to address fossil fuel-related externalities including climate change typically operate by raising the price of those fuels. Increases in energy prices have important consequences for a typical U. S. household that spent almost $4,000 per year on electricity, fuel oil, natural gas, and gasoline in 2005. A key question for policymakers is how these consequences vary over different regions and subpopulations across the country-especially as adjustment and compensation programs are designed to protect more vulnerable regions. To answer this question, we use non-publicly available data from the U. S. Consumer Expenditure Survey over the period 1984-2000 to estimate long-run geographic variation in household use of electricity, fuel oil, natural gas, and gasoline, as well as the associated incidence of a $10 per ton tax on carbon dioxide (ignoring behavioral response). We find substantial variation: incidence from the tax range from $97 dollars per year per household in New York County, New York to $235 per year per household in Tensas Parish, Louisiana. This variation can be explained by differences in energy use, carbon intensity of electricity generation, and electricity regulation. © Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Pizer, W; Sanchirico, JN; Batz, M
Published Date
- February 1, 2010
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 99 / 1
Start / End Page
- 47 - 63
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0165-0009
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1007/s10584-009-9637-8
Citation Source
- Scopus