Study On Regulation Of Agricultural Non-point Source Pollution By Environmental Taxes

At present,the global agricultural resource and environment show a general trend of continuous deterioration,and the basic environment of agricultural production is constantly eroded and destroyed,especially the problem of non-point source pollution(NPSP)in agriculture is becoming more and more serious,which has threatened the sustainable development of global agriculture.China's agricultural production and ecological environment situation is not optimistic,while facing the dual pressure of endogenous NPSP and exogenous NPSP,seriously restricting agricultural production,rural development and farmers' income grwoth.The Nineteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of P.R.China clearly proposed to "strengthen the control and remediation of soil pollution,strengthen the prevention and control of agricultural non-point source pollution(ANPSP),and carry out rural human settlements environmental renovation action".General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the meeting of the Central Deepening Reform Group that "agricultural development should not only eliminate new debts of ecological environment,but also gradually repay old debts".Therefore,the research on the regulation of ANPSP has broad policy background and great strategic significance.Theoretical research shows that environmental tax is effective in the regulation of point source pollution,and the policy practice of developed countries also confirms that the regulation of point source pollution by environmental tax is effective.However,can environmental tax system be extend to ANPSP? If feasible,is environmental tax effective in regulating ANPSP? Therefore,the scientific question of this paper is put forward: is it effective to regulate ANPSP by environmental tax? Based on existing literature,this paper will establish a benchmark analysis framework,to analyze the effectiveness of environmental tax regulation of ANPSP,whith the application of methods of experimental economics,game theory,institutional economics et al.And then relax the relevant economic assumptions,seek the optimal combination of environmental tax policy tools,and put forward policy suggestions for specific system design.The main contents of this paper include:(1)The current trend of ANPSP,theoretical basis of economic regulation,and choice of regulatory tools.On the basis of literature review,this paper analyzes the current development trend of global and domestic ANPSP,expounds the relevant theories of ANPSP generation and regulation,and comparatively analyzes the comparative advantages of various regulatory policy tools.(2)The effectiveness of environmental tax regulation on ANPSP.In the context of externality,endogeneity and conditionally complete information,this paper constructs a benchmark analysis framework of environmental tax regulation of ANPSP,mainly using methods of game theory,experimental economics and other methods,and compares and analyzes the effectiveness of different types of environmental tax mechanism and aggregate penalty mechanism in terms of regulating ANPSP from two dimensions of efficiency and stability.Then,further relax the hypothesis of the benchmark model,introduce the asymmetric information of emission reduction cost and the heterogeneity of polluters,and use the experimental economics method to study the cooperative collusion behavior of polluters under the mechanism of collective fine and ambient tax,and re-examine the effectiveness of the two mechanisms.(3)The optimal policy tool combination of environmental tax regulation on ANPSP.We further refine the agricultural production process,in a partial equilibrium analysis framework,study the policy effect of two sector regulatory tool combination based on environmental taxes and subsidies,and then get the optimal policy tool combination.(4)The system design of environmental tax regulating ANPSP.According to the results of theoretical research,this paper puts forward some concrete suggestions on the choice of institutional model,the design of institutional elements and the construction of supporting systems for China's environmental tax regulation of ANPSP.The conclusions are as follows:(1)It is feasible to regulate ANPSP by environmental tax.From the technical point of view,it is feasible to regulate ANPSP by environmental tax,which can give full play to the comparative advantage of spontaneous regulation of market mechanism.From the political level,as long as the system design is scientific and reasonable,environmental tax regulation of ANPSP is of political feasibility.(2)It is effective to regulate ANPSP by environmental tax.Based on the comparative analysis of experimental economics,it is found that the efficiency and stability of the two mechanisms are satisfactory.Based on the three indexes of regulation efficiency,stability between experimental groups and stability between game rounds,the priority of several mechanisms is ranked from high to low as follows: input environmental tax?output environmental tax?ambient tax?collective fine?ambient tax-subsidy.(3)The regulation of ANPSP by environmental tax needs two-way incentive.There are many ways to achieve social optimization,but the optimal combination of ANPSP environmental tax regulation policy includes three tools,namely,input environmental tax,output environmental tax and green agricultural development subsidy.(4)the environmental tax regulation of ANPSP needs scientific system design to ensure acceptability.At the level of system mode selection,we should adhere to the principle of fiscally neutral reform,implement the system of policy notice,trial operation,special funds and so on,and prevent the "frame effect".At the design level of tax system elements,we need to focus on regulatory objects,regulatory standards and regulatory means.We can achieve policy objectives through indirect regulation.In the aspect of supporting system construction,we need to strengthen supporting system guarantee from laws and regulations,financial budget,agricultural technology extension certification,engineering technology,et al.The theoretical research and empirical test results of this paper have important policy implications for the regulation of ANPSP.(1)The regulation of ANPSP requires classified measures.The regulation of ANPSP can not rely solely on one policy or one kind of policies,but should be classified and integrated according to the different characteristics of NPSP and the scope of application of various regulatory policies.The institutional comparative advantage of environmental tax in regulating ANPSP can be effectively brought into play under the circumstances of large elasticity of pollution discharge,small pollution damage and reversible environmental damage.(2)Regulating ANPSP requires two-way incentives.The regulation of ANPSP requires both positive and negative incentives to non-point source polluters and a two-way incentive mechanism to better achieve environmental policy objectives.(3)To regulate ANPSP,we need to correct policy deviations.This study shows that input environmental tax and output environmental tax are efficient and reliable in regulating ANPSP,and have comparative advantages over other mechanisms.This conclusion implies that the turnover tax(VAT)levied on agricultural products with NPSP caused by agricultural production factors and production processes has a significant role in promoting the reduction of ANPSP.Therefore,it is suggested that the state adjust the current VAT policy on input and output of polluting agricultural production factors and implement a unified VAT tax rate.On the one hand,the theoretical value-added tax system requires a single tax rate,and minimizes the link of tax exemption and non-taxation,in order to maintain the integrity of the value-added tax deduction chain.On the other hand,levying a unified value-added tax on polluting inputs and polluting agricultural products is conducive to correcting the policy deviation that tax exemption or low tax rate policy may induce excessive NPSP emissions.There may be four innovations in this paper:(1)Indirect regulation under information constraints.In view of the decentralization,randomness and difficulty in observing ANPSP under the restriction of information asymmetry,we break through the direct regulatory framework of traditional Pigouvian tax theory,regulate ANPSP according to indirect regulatory thinking,and avoid the relevant information needs of ANPSP emissions.(2)Endogenous externalities of NPSP.Under the condition of information asymmetry,considering the feedback effect between the polluter and the environment,assuming that agricultural non-point source polluters themselves are affected by pollution,the negative externalities of NPSP are internalized,and the effectiveness of different types of environmental tax mechanism and collective penalty mechanism to regulate ANPSP is comparatively analyzed.(3)Appropriate application of experimental economics method.Under the background that the environmental tax system is not levied on ANPSP emissions,the experimental economics method is used to simulate the policy situation,which makes the research conclusions more credible and policy recommendations more feasible.(4)Policy simulation under the unified framework.A benchmark framework is constructed.Four kinds of environmental tax mechanisms and collective fine mechanism are compared and analyzed in the same framework.Based on the situation of irregularity,the policy effects of various regulatory mechanisms are simulated.According to the two indicators of efficiency and stability,the various regulatory mechanisms are ranked.