Balancing “today” and “tomorrow”: The role of environmental regulation in harmonizing intergenerational utility

IF 9.2 2区经济学 Q1 ECONOMICS

Energy Policy Pub Date : 2025-09-29 DOI:10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114906

Hongwang Chang , Yushuo Chen , Li Liu , Tao Wang , Pingjian Yang

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Abstract

Environmental policy aims to ensure sustainable, green, and healthy economic growth through macroeconomic regulation. In the absence of a central planner, the current generation is likely to impose the negative externalities of its economic growth on future generations. This situation could lead to unsustainable economic development and severe environmental problems. Environmental regulation, with its unique characteristics, is increasingly recognized as a primary policy tool for addressing such environmental challenges. This paper theoretically examines the effects of environmental regulation on intergenerational utility using a two-period overlapping generations (OLG) model. Through simulations and empirical tests, we explore how environmental regulation harmonizes environmental quality with economic growth by promoting cleaner energy consumption and technological progress. Our analysis provides theoretical pathways for achieving this compatibility and offers policy insights to guide the development of effective environmental regulation. The study provides a framework for designing policies tailored to different stages of development and sectors, offering practical guidance for sustainable economic growth.

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平衡“今天”和“明天”：环境法规在协调代际效用中的作用

环境政策旨在通过宏观调控确保经济持续、绿色、健康增长。在缺乏中央计划者的情况下，当代人很可能将其经济增长的负面外部性强加给后代。这种情况可能导致不可持续的经济发展和严重的环境问题。环境管制由于其独特的特点，越来越被认为是解决这些环境挑战的主要政策工具。本文采用两代重叠模型从理论上考察了环境规制对代际效用的影响。通过模拟和实证检验，我们探讨了环境监管如何通过促进清洁能源消费和技术进步来协调环境质量与经济增长。我们的分析为实现这种兼容性提供了理论途径，并为指导有效环境监管的发展提供了政策见解。该研究为设计适合不同发展阶段和部门的政策提供了一个框架，为可持续经济增长提供了实际指导。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Energy Policy 管理科学-环境科学

CiteScore

17.30

自引率

5.60%

发文量

540

审稿时长

7.9 months

期刊介绍： Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute to climate change mitigation. The attributes of energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques. Energy policy is closely related to climate change policy because totalled worldwide the energy sector emits more greenhouse gas than other sectors.