This research project addresses a need for a more comprehensive estimation of the distributional impact of various policies attempting to limit carbon emissions in the United States.
The argument most commonly used against efforts to mitigate carbon emissions in the US (other than the claim that it is unnecessary) is the contention that it would hurt US households by increasing the cost of energy. This project incorporates fiscal impacts as well as employment impacts of a range of policy alternatives to achieving carbon emissions reduction as well as provides estimates of the impact on individual households in terms of earnings, household income and wealth. The result is a fuller picture of the welfare effects of various policy choices for climate change mitigation, as well as the development of a new comprehensive inequality impact assessment methodology.
