This thesis consists of three essays within the field of applied environmental economics, with the common basic aim of analyzing effects of Swedish environmental policy. Starting out from Swedish environmental goals, the thesis assesses a range of policy-related questions. The objective is to quantify policy outcomes by constructing and applying numerical models especially designed for environmental policy analysis. Static and dynamic multi-sectoral computable general equilibrium models are developed in order to analyze the following issues. The costs and benefits of a domestic carbon dioxide (CO2) tax reform. Special attention is given to how these costs and benefits depend on the structure of the tax system and, furthermore, how they depend on policy-induced changes in "secondary" pollutants. The effects of allowing for emission permit trading through time when the domestic long-term domestic environmental goal is specified in CO2stock terms. The effects on long-term projected economic growth and welfare that are due to damages from emission flow and accumulation of "local" pollutants (nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide), as well as the outcome of environmental policy when costs and benefits are considered in an integrated environmental-economic framework. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk., 2001

This thesis consists of four essays within the field of environmental economics. Computable General Equilibrium models have been used to assess the economic consequences of greenhouse gas policies. The focus is mainly on the Swedish economy, but the EU economies and the global economies are also analyzed in one essay each. The costs and effects of a unilateral Swedish decision to reduce carbon dioxide emissions are analyzed in essay I. The results of a unilateral reduction are compared to the results of an implementation of an EU multilateral agreement. The results indicate that if Sweden unilaterally decides to increase its CO2 tax, total EU CO2 emissions will increase, i.e. there will be a “carbon leakage effect”. Furthermore, an EU multilateral implementation of a CO2 tax will induce lower welfare (excluding environmental benefits) in Sweden, as compared to the situation where the same tax is unilaterally introduced.In the second essay we analyze the Swedish environmental goals conforming to the Kyoto Protocol, when simultaneously meeting national goals to alleviate acidification and eutrofication effects by reducing SO2 and NOx pollutants. We have found that when secondary benefits of measures aiming at reducing CO2 are taken into account, it may still be in the government’s interest to nationally decrease CO2, instead of engaging in seemingly low-cost trading. The principles for allocation emission permits are many, and in the third essay I focus on principles based on economic welfare theory. My main conclusion from these simulation exercises is that the distribution rule based on the different assumptions on social welfare function and some other more ad hoc distribution rules offers quite large changes in welfare, distributions of emission rights and contrary to earlier literature, I find that the initial distribution not only gives second-order effects but affects equilibrium prices and therefore, income.In the fourth essay I focus on how households’ demand for transport services can be improved in CGE-models. A differentiation between trip purposes and trip length, a complementary relationship between work journeys and labor supply, and a subdivision of households by density of population and income, influences the numerical results in a direction increasing the negative welfare effect of a carbon target, as compared to the non-extended model. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2004