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ID: 127830

Keeping the public purse: an experiment in windfalls, taxes, and the incentives to restrain government / Paler, Laura

Paler, Laura	Journal Article
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2013.

Summary/Abstract

It is widely believed that rents from windfall revenue undermine accountability. An enduring explanation is that windfalls free leaders from the need to tax, producing a quiescent population. Yet, there is little direct evidence of how windfalls and taxes affect citizen political action. I use novel revenue and information experiments to examine whether and why windfalls (compared to taxes) affect how citizens participate in politics. The experiments were embedded in a public awareness campaign conducted with 1,863 citizens in Indonesia. The results-from an original survey and postcard campaign-indicate that the tax treatment increased monitoring and anti-incumbent political action. Yet, when given spending information, citizens in the windfall treatment cared just as much about misused revenue as those in the tax treatment. The findings have important implications for understanding not only how revenue affects citizen political behavior but also how people acquire and process information on government spending

Key Words

Indonesia ; Taxation ; Government Policies ; Government Spending ; Political Behavior ; Political Action ;
Economic Policies ; Public Purse ; Windfall Revenue ; Undermine Accountability ; Public Revenue

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ID: 149967

Tracking global carbon revenues: a survey of carbon taxes versus cap-and-trade in the real world / Carl, Jeremy; Fedor, David

Carl, Jeremy	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

We investigate the current use of public revenues which are generated through both carbon taxes and cap-and-trade systems. More than $28.3 billion in government “carbon revenues” are currently collected each year in 40 countries and another 16 states or provinces around the world. Of those revenues, 27% ($7.8 billion) are used to subsidize “green” spending in energy efficiency or renewable energy; 26% ($7.4 billion) go toward state general funds; and 36% ($10.1 billion) are returned to corporate or individual taxpayers through paired tax cuts or direct rebates. Cap-and-trade systems ($6.57 billion in total public revenue) earmark a larger share of revenues for “green” spending (70%), while carbon tax systems ($21.7 billion) more commonly refund revenues or otherwise direct them towards government general funds (72% of revenues). Drawing from an empirical dataset, we also identify various trends in systems’ use of “carbon revenues” in terms of the total revenues collected annually per capita in each jurisdiction and offer commensurate qualitative observations on carbon policy design choices.

Key Words

Fiscal Policy ; Energy Politics ; Carbon Tax ; Cap-and-Trade ; Public Revenue ; Energy Policy Design

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