Är skatter effektiva för att minska konsumtion av plastpåsar? - En kvantitativ studie som visar förändring i konsumtionen av plastpåsar efter implementeringen av styrmedel runt om i världen under år 2018 och 2019

Abstract

Plastic waste is one of the biggest challenges facing people around the world. It is a global problem that needs immediate solutions. In this study, we focus on the consumption of plastic bags. Plastic bags are cheap and efficient in use and therefore the demand and production of these goods increased sharply in the last decades. But in most cases, the bags are only used once before being thrown away. The problem is that if the waste is mishandled, the bags spread in nature and the sea. Traces of plastic waste can be found everywhere and since nature cannot break down the plastic, it creates many negative consequences for nature, animals and humans. Decision-makers around the world have started to react and implement various policy measures to reduce the consumption of plastic bags. The most common measures are taxes and bans. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the effectiveness of the tax on the consumption of plastic bags. This thesis was conducted using a quantitative method. The work discusses economic concepts such as externalities, supply, demand and tax and their application to the particular case at hand. A major problem associated to the use of plastic bags is that the social damage is not reflected in the price and therefore policy makers need to consider how to account for the negative externalities that increasing and uncontrolled consumption of plastic bags leads to. The results and the regression analysis carried out in this thesis show that there is a negative relationship between the magnitude of the tax and the consumption of plastic bags. The higher the tax, the lower the consumption. At the same time, the response to policies that attempt to curve plastic bags consumption is different across countries, which is caused by differences in the level of development and environmental awareness among countries. Tax policies and plastic restrictions in developed countries have generally achieved better results than those in developing countries. But according to our research, plastic bag taxes and plastic bans have a significant effect reducing plastic bag consumption in both developed and developing countries.