Some public utility commissions use monetary place-holders to reflect externality values in the financial evaluation of utility investments. This approach can be justified as a "second-best" policy tool if existing environmental regulation can be taken as given. This paper addresses two possible...

Policies to cap emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), such as the recently announced agreement among the northeastern states of the USA, are expected to have important effects on the electricity industry and on the market value of firms that own electricity generation assets. A study of the...

US climate policy is unfolding under the Clean Air Act. Mobile source and construction permitting regulations are in place. Most important, EPA and the states will determine the form and stringency of the regulations for power plants. Various approaches would create an implicit price on emitting...

Environmental regulators often seek to promote forefront technology for new investments; however, technology mandates are suspected of raising cost and delaying investment. We examine investment choices under an inflexible (traditional) emissions rate performance standard for new sources. We...

We experimentally study auctions versus grandfathering in the initial assignment of pollution permits that can be traded in a secondary spot market. Low and high emitters compete for permits in the auction, whereas permits are assigned for free under grandfathering. In theory, trading in the...

How to set policy in the presence of uncertainty has been central in debates over climate policy. Concern about costs has motivated the proposal for a cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide, with a "safety valve" that would mitigate against spikes in the cost of emission reductions by...