European Pesticide Tax Schemes in Comparison: An Analysis of Experiences and Developments
Policy measures are needed to reduce the risks associated with pesticides’ application in agriculture, resulting in more sustainable agricultural systems. Pesticide taxes can be an important tool in the toolkit of policy-makers and are of increasing importance in European agriculture. However, littl...
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doaj-f877ecf9c6754a7ab2a249af5b51022e2020-11-24T22:39:19ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502016-04-018437810.3390/su8040378su8040378European Pesticide Tax Schemes in Comparison: An Analysis of Experiences and DevelopmentsThomas Böcker0Robert Finger1Institute for Food and Resource Economics, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, GermanyAgricultural Economics and Policy Group, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandPolicy measures are needed to reduce the risks associated with pesticides’ application in agriculture, resulting in more sustainable agricultural systems. Pesticide taxes can be an important tool in the toolkit of policy-makers and are of increasing importance in European agriculture. However, little is known about the effects of such tax solutions and their impacts on the environment, farmers, and human health. We aim to fill this gap and synthesize experiences made in the European countries that have introduced pesticide taxes, i.e., France, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The major findings of our analysis are: (1) overall, the effectiveness of pesticide taxes is limited, but if a tax on a specific pesticide is high enough, the application and the associated risks will be reduced significantly; (2) in all countries, hoarding activities have been observed before a tax introduction or increase. Therefore, short-term effects of taxes are substantially smaller than long-term effects; (3) differentiated taxes are superior to undifferentiated taxes because fewer accompanying measures are required to reach policy goals; (4) tax scheme designs are not always in line with the National Action Plan targets. Low tax levels do not necessarily lead to a reduction of pesticide input and differentiated taxes do not necessarily lead to fewer violations of water residue limits.http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/4/378pesticide taxnational action planpesticide risk indicatorintegrated pest managementSwedenDenmarkNorwayFrance |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Thomas Böcker Robert Finger |
spellingShingle |
Thomas Böcker Robert Finger European Pesticide Tax Schemes in Comparison: An Analysis of Experiences and Developments Sustainability pesticide tax national action plan pesticide risk indicator integrated pest management Sweden Denmark Norway France |
author_facet |
Thomas Böcker Robert Finger |
author_sort |
Thomas Böcker |
title |
European Pesticide Tax Schemes in Comparison: An Analysis of Experiences and Developments |
title_short |
European Pesticide Tax Schemes in Comparison: An Analysis of Experiences and Developments |
title_full |
European Pesticide Tax Schemes in Comparison: An Analysis of Experiences and Developments |
title_fullStr |
European Pesticide Tax Schemes in Comparison: An Analysis of Experiences and Developments |
title_full_unstemmed |
European Pesticide Tax Schemes in Comparison: An Analysis of Experiences and Developments |
title_sort |
european pesticide tax schemes in comparison: an analysis of experiences and developments |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sustainability |
issn |
2071-1050 |
publishDate |
2016-04-01 |
description |
Policy measures are needed to reduce the risks associated with pesticides’ application in agriculture, resulting in more sustainable agricultural systems. Pesticide taxes can be an important tool in the toolkit of policy-makers and are of increasing importance in European agriculture. However, little is known about the effects of such tax solutions and their impacts on the environment, farmers, and human health. We aim to fill this gap and synthesize experiences made in the European countries that have introduced pesticide taxes, i.e., France, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The major findings of our analysis are: (1) overall, the effectiveness of pesticide taxes is limited, but if a tax on a specific pesticide is high enough, the application and the associated risks will be reduced significantly; (2) in all countries, hoarding activities have been observed before a tax introduction or increase. Therefore, short-term effects of taxes are substantially smaller than long-term effects; (3) differentiated taxes are superior to undifferentiated taxes because fewer accompanying measures are required to reach policy goals; (4) tax scheme designs are not always in line with the National Action Plan targets. Low tax levels do not necessarily lead to a reduction of pesticide input and differentiated taxes do not necessarily lead to fewer violations of water residue limits. |
topic |
pesticide tax national action plan pesticide risk indicator integrated pest management Sweden Denmark Norway France |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/4/378 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT thomasbocker europeanpesticidetaxschemesincomparisonananalysisofexperiencesanddevelopments AT robertfinger europeanpesticidetaxschemesincomparisonananalysisofexperiencesanddevelopments |
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