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Journal of Economics Finance and Management Studies
Article . 2026 . Peer-reviewed
Data sources: Crossref
ZENODO
Article . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Article . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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Carbon Taxes vs. Cap-and-Trade as Responses to Greenhouse Gas Externalities A comparative secondary research paper on the EU Emissions Trading System and Sweden's carbon tax

Authors: Chaarvi Parasher;

Carbon Taxes vs. Cap-and-Trade as Responses to Greenhouse Gas Externalities A comparative secondary research paper on the EU Emissions Trading System and Sweden's carbon tax

Abstract

Greenhouse gas emissions are a negative externality because private decisions to burn fossil fuels do not fully reflect the climate damages imposed on others. This paper compares two market-based instruments designed to correct that failure: carbon taxes, which fix the price of emissions and allow quantities to adjust, and cap-and-trade systems, which fix the emissions quantity and allow the permit price to adjust. The case studies are the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and Sweden's national carbon tax. The review finds that both instruments can generate meaningful emissions reductions when their coverage is broad, their carbon price is material, and exemptions are limited. Peer-reviewed evidence estimates that the EU ETS reduced regulated manufacturing emissions by 14% in Phase I and 16.3% in Phase II, and avoided about 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 between 2008 and 2016. For Sweden, synthetic-control and firm-level studies estimate an almost 11% transport-sector reduction and large manufacturing-sector responses to carbon pricing. The main conclusion is not that one instrument is universally superior. Design details - coverage, revenue use, price stability, exemptions, and trade-exposure protections - largely determine efficiency, equity, and political durability.

Keywords

carbon tax; cap-and-trade; EU ETS; Sweden; carbon pricing; greenhouse gas externalities; emissions trading; Pigouvian taxation

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average