Abstract
Beef production represents a huge contribution to climate change as the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within animal agriculture. One way of reducing the scale of negative externalities owing to beef production is to implement a Pigouvian tax on beef suppliers. In this article, the effects of such a tax on U.S. beef consumption were studied using ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions to determine the relationship between beef price and domestic beef supply, as well as the elasticity of demand for beef. The results suggest that the a price increase would statistically significantly reduce beef consumption. This would subsequently reduce the negative externalities owing to beef production. A carbon tax of $0.55 per pound of retail beef would result in a decrease in domestic supply of 857,230 tons which translates into a decrease in GHG emissions of 36.1 billion lbs.
Advisor
Krause, Brooke
Department
Business Economics
Recommended Citation
Greene, Ethan, "Silent but Deadly: An Economic Approach to Reducing the Negative Externalities of the Beef Industry to the Environment" (2018). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 8221.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/8221
Disciplines
Agricultural and Resource Economics
Publication Date
2018
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2018 Ethan Greene