ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors combine the two approaches by estimating the ex post behaviour of firms starting from an arithmetical microsimulation model. Among all criteria for ex post evaluation of environmentally-related taxes, as proposed by OECD, they focus on the ability of tax in reducing CO2 emissions; however, as pointed out by Agnolucci, it is very difficult to distinguish between the effect of taxes and their effectiveness, assessing the efficacy of tax implies ascertaining the effects of tax in relation to the expected objectives and targets or to other instruments. As regards the Kyoto target of emissions abatement, for instance, countries implement multiple policies and there is no defined target for each policy. The effectiveness of environmental taxes on industrial firms can be evaluated by using a variety of modelling approaches. First of all, an ex ante simulation can be employed in order to provide information on the short-term effect of taxes.
