The Climate Policy Paradox: Why Voters Reject the Tools that Economists Advocate Most

Economists overwhelmingly favor carbon taxes and cap-and-trade over environmental regulatory standards, but voters disagree. Our new research shows that simple economic misunderstandings help explain why. Here’s a puzzle that has frustrated economists for decades: putting a price on pollution, through a pollution tax or cap-and-trade, provides the most efficient way to cut emissions. Ninety percent of leading economists in a U Chicago poll endorsed a version of this view. Yet government enthusi