1. Alan Finkelstein Shapiro and Victoria Nuguer. "Climate Policies, Labor Markets, and Macroeconomic Outcomes in Emerging Economies", Journal of Development Economics, Volume 182, June 2026
Abstract:
We study the labor market and macroeconomic effects of a carbon tax in the energy sector in emerging economies. We build a search and matching macro model with pollution externalities from energy production, endogenous green-technology adoption, and salaried-firm entry that incorporates two key elements of the employment and firm structure of these economies: salaried labor and firm informality and self-employment. Calibrating the model to emerging-economy data, we show that a carbon tax increases green-technology adoption and the share of green energy, but also leads to higher energy prices. As a result, the tax reduces salaried firm creation, the number of formal firms, and formal employment, and leads to an increase in self-employment, labor participation, and unemployment—a response that generates long run output and welfare losses. Green-technology adoption limits while self-employment exacerbates the quantitative magnitude of these losses. A joint policy that combines a carbon tax with a reduction in the cost of firm formality can offset the adverse effects of the tax and generate a transition to a lower-carbon economy with minimal economic costs.