Externalities of the car industry

Our mobility comes at a price: environmental and social externalities, along with dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, urge governments and industry to act. At the EU level, achievements such as the Euro I/VI classification system and the EU plans for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions are two examples of how EU constructors can effectively be forced into producing more environmental-friendly cars. On the other hand, consumers can also be nudged, thanks to incentive as well as punitive actions, to make responsible purchases. After a brief overview of the major externalities of our mobility, this book examines some of the national and EU policies implemented in recent years with the purpose of curbing irresponsible automotive production, trade and purchase. The analysis has been run in a comparative perspective, across three representative EU countries: Belgium, Italy and Germany. Though the EU's supply-oriented legislation proofs successful, we found that most national consumer-oriented policies fall short of achieving an efficient result and that both a uniform EU taxation and EU incentive systems are advisable in this regard.

Autorentext

Serena Boccardo, PhD student in Economics at the University of Trento (Italy). She worked as junior funds raiser at the Research Center on Pensions and Welfare Policies in Turin and as freelance journalist for the Italian feminist economics magazine inGenere. She studied in Turin, Rome, Antwerp and Florence. She speaks Italian, English and French.