Résumé
We provide a non-anthropocentric rationale for implementing a levy on meat consumption due to animal-welfare considerations. It operates as a Pigouvian tax and addresses externalities on farmed animals. Under total utilitarianism, the levy is a subsidy when an animal’s life is worth living, and a tax when it is not. Under average utilitarianism, it is always a tax when human welfare exceeds animal welfare. Even under conservative assumptions, calibrated tax levels are substantial and would make most-intensive animal farms unprofitable. Taxes are significantly higher for chickens and pigs than for cows, in contrast to the taxation of other meat externalities.
Mots-clés
Animal welfare; meat; Pigouvian taxation; utilitarianism; life worth; living; quality-adjusted life years; population ethics.;
Codes JEL
- Q18: Agricultural Policy • Food Policy
- Q50: General
- H41: Public Goods
- I31: General Welfare, Well-Being
Référence
Romain Espinosa et Nicolas Treich, « The Animal-Welfare Levy », TSE Working Paper, n° 24-1503, janvier 2024.
Voir aussi
Publié dans
TSE Working Paper, n° 24-1503, janvier 2024