Do energy taxes reduce the carbon footprint? Evidence from Turkey

Öz

This study examines the effect of energy taxes on the carbon footprint in Turkey using the data set for 1994-2017. Johansen cointegration tests were used in this study to analyze the existence of a long-term relationship between the variables. Moreover, the estimation methods “dynamic ordinary least squares” (DOLS) and “fully modified ordinary least squares” (FMOLS) were applied to determine the long-term cointegration coefficients. The results of the Johansen cointegration analysis confirm that there is a long-term cointegration relationship between the variables. In addition, the results of DOLS and FMOLS show that an increase in energy taxes reduces the carbon footprint in the long term. In conclusion, the results of the study suggest that environmental taxes can be used as an effective alternative policy tool to achieve certain environmental quality standards. In addition, the results provide evidence that such taxes can influence costs and, by doing so, have an effect on the economic decision units’ habits of environmentally harmful production and consumption.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Energy Taxes
• Carbon Footprint
• Turkey

Enerji vergileri karbon ayak izini azaltır mı? Türkiye'den kanıtlar

Öz

Bu çalışma, 1994–2017 dönemi Türkiye veri setini kullanarak enerji vergilerinin karbon ayak izi üzerindeki etkisini incelemektedir. Bu çalışmada, değişkenler arasındaki uzun dönemli bir ilişkinin varlığını analiz etmek için Johansen eş-bütünleşme testleri kullanılmaktadır. Ayrıca, uzun dönem eş bütünleşme katsayılarını belirlemek için dinamik en küçük kareler (DOLS) ve tam düzeltilmiş en küçük kareler (FMOLS) tahmin yöntemleri uygulanmaktadır. Johansen eş bütünleşme analizinden elde edilen bulgular, değişkenler arasında uzun dönemli bir eş bütünleşme ilişkisinin olduğunu doğrulamaktadır. Ayrıca, DOLS ve FMOLS sonuçları, enerji vergilerinde meydana gelen bir artışın uzun vadede karbon ayak izini azalttığını ortaya koymaktadır. Bulgular, çevresel vergilerin belirli çevre kalite standartlarına ulaşmak için etkili birer alternatif politika aracı olarak kullanılabileceğini göstermektedir. Ayrıca, bu tür vergilerin maliyetleri etkilemek suretiyle ekonomik karar birimlerinin çevreye zararlı üretim ve tüketim alışkanlıkları üzerinde etkili olabildiğine dair kanıtlar sunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Enerji Vergileri
• Karbon Ayak İzi
• Türkiye

Kaynakça

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