ENVIRONMENTAL-POLICY AND STRUCTURAL-CHANGE IN THE PASSENGER TRANSPORTSECTOR - ARE TAXES ENOUGH

The paper investigates the theoretical rationale for green taxes with a view to clarifying their informational requirements and to assessing the extent to which the requirements have been fulfilled in attempts to implement them. It is argued that it is in particular the issue of structural change, i.e. the temporal development of the output and tec hnology mix of a sector, that plays a crucial role in the design and i mplementation of green taxes and determines their efficiency and effec tiveness. The paper then explores the determinants of structural chang e in the passenger transport sector in the context of a system dynamic model. It is argued that largely autonomous self-enforcing processes are not only responsible for structural change but may also work again st the incentives provided by relative prices and thus undermine the e ffects of taxes. On that basis, the role of policy instruments in gene ral is examined, i.e. public spending, legislation and planning, to as sess their role as potential complements to taxation.