Some of my research aims to explain why some governments have been more active in implementing policies to address climate change than others. I focus on measures that alter the price of fossil fuels.
Why Do Governments Tax or Subsidize Fossil Fuels?
Paasha Mahdavi, Michael Ross, and Cesar B. Martinez-Alvarez
Revise and Resubmit
Abstract: Governments have long faced pressure to address the climate crisis by increasing taxes on fossil fuels. It is unclear how they have responded. Fossil fuel taxes and subsidies are hard to measure and often hidden in complex policy instruments. We collect and analyze an original high-frequency measure of gasoline taxes and subsidies, covering 157 countries. Our analysis yields three findings: despite rising alarm about climate change, from 2003 to 2015 there was little change in net fuel taxes and subsidies at a global level; these taxes and subsidies appear to be driven by the same fiscal conditions that determine other types of taxes; and reforms are overwhelmingly associated with idiosyncratic country-level conditions. These patterns suggest fossil fuel taxes are determined by a country's revenue needs, not its political institutions or environmental commitments. They also have signicant implications for debates over policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Political Leadership Has Limited Impact on Fossil Fuel Taxes and Subsidies
Paasha Mahdavi, Michael Ross, Chad Hazlett, and Cesar B. Martinez-Alvarez
Manuscript in preparation
Abstract: Why do some governments cut fossil fuel subsidies or raise fossil fuel taxes while others do not? How does political leadership matter? We investigate the role of 671 presidents, prime ministers, and monarchs in 155 countries in changing gasoline taxes and subsidies, using original monthly data. Our findings suggest that the impact of leadership is surprisingly small and ephemeral. In most categories of countries, political leadership has no measurable association with taxes and subsidies. Where leaders appear to play a role – primarily in countries with large subsidies – they seldom brought about lasting changes. We also find that the personal characteristics of leaders are uncorrelated with their impact on fuel taxes and subsidies. Our findings suggest that leaders of all types find it exceptionally hard to have a lasting impact on gasoline taxes and subsidies. It also implies that less controversial climate policies are likely to be more durable