Pigouvian taxes
What to do when the interests of individuals and society do not coincide? The fourth in our series
LOUD conversation in a train carriage that makes concentration impossible for fellow-passengers. A farmer spraying weedkiller that destroys his neighbour’s crop. Motorists whose idling cars spew fumes into the air, polluting the atmosphere for everyone. Such behaviour might be considered thoughtless, anti-social or even immoral. For economists these spillovers are a problem to be solved.
This article appeared in the Schools brief section of the print edition under the headline “The lives of others”
From the August 19th 2017 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
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