Optimal economic growth and energy policy: analysis of nonrenewable and renewable energy

This article analyzes the taxes levied on the nonrenewable energy sector and the subsidies awarded for renewable energy use. Applying the decentralized economy model with a parallel use of two types of energy, we find that the decentralized economy cannot attain the social optimum due to externality in the market economy. Using optimal tax to attain the social optimum in the decentralized economy entails imposing it on the nonrenewable energy sector. Using damage functions for simulation in our model, we find that the worse the environmental damage is, the larger the cost.