Emissions Reduction Policies and Their Effects on Economy

The two broad carbon-reducing policies, carbon tax and cap-and-trade, have been implemented at various national and sub-national levels. This paper examines the relationships between emissions-reducing policies and their effect on the country’s economic growth (GDP) using carbon tax and CO2 emission as explanatory variables and population and R&D as control variables. The study employs Granger causality analysis (GCA) and panel data regression analysis to find the relationships between GDP, emissions, and carbon tax. GDP usually increases as a country’s carbon emissions, carbon tax, R&D, and population increase. The analysis of carbon reduction policies, especially carbon tax and their general impact on a country’s economy, is a unique contribution of this study. The applications of this study are to motivate governments to form a national carbon abatement policy and encourage corporate leaders to invest in clean technology to grow the economy.