Pollution, Private Investment in Healthcare, and Environmental Policy*
在考虑污染损害健康且个人可投资改善健康的两期世代交叠模型中，发现环境税与经济活动及终身福利均呈倒U型关系，更严格的环境政策可能促进经济但降低稳态福利。
Abstract In this paper, we demonstrate that, in a two‐period overlapping‐generations model, the relationship between environmental taxation and economic activity (output level and growth) has an inverted‐U shape when we take into account the detrimental impact of pollution on health and the individual decision of each working‐age agent to improve her health. We also demonstrate that the link between environmental tax and lifetime welfare also has an inverted‐U shape, and that a tighter environmental policy might enhance economic activity while reducing steady‐state lifetime welfare. Finally, we investigate the social optimum and the determinants of the optimal environmental tax.