A Pigovian tax is a tax imposed on activities that generate negative externalities, which are costs not reflected in the market price. The idea is to align private costs with social costs, thereby reducing the occurrence of these harmful activities. For example, a tax on carbon emissions aims to encourage companies to lower their greenhouse gas output, as the tax makes it more expensive to pollute. The optimal tax level is often set equal to the marginal social cost of the negative externality, which can be expressed mathematically as:
where is the tax, is the marginal social cost, and is the marginal private cost. By implementing a Pigovian tax, governments aim to promote socially desirable behavior while generating revenue that can be used to mitigate the effects of the externality or fund public goods.
Start your personalized study experience with acemate today. Sign up for free and find summaries and mock exams for your university.