ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the economic and environmental effects of pay-as-youthrow (PAYT) waste programs. Using a newly constructed longitudinal dataset of Italian municipalities and a staked-by-event design, we obtain three main findings: (i) PAYT programs significantly reduce total waste production; (ii) they further decrease waste management costs and leave municipal finances unaffected; (iii) they generate positive spillover effects on pro-environmental behaviors not directly targeted by the program. Survey evidence suggests that PAYT increases environmental awareness and concerns of the population in treated municipalities.

JEL codes: C21, H23, Q53.
Keywords: Waste Management, Taxation, Difference-in-Differences, Variation in Treatment Timing.
ISSN 2704-7407
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