Background
An externality is a core concept in economics that refers to the cost or benefit arising from a given activity which does not accrue to the individual or organization carrying out the activity. The idea signifies the ripple effects of economic actions on third parties.
Historical Context
The concept of externalities can trace its intellectual roots back to the work of early 20th-century economists like Alfred Marshall and Arthur Pigou. Pigou’s seminal work, “The Economics of Welfare” (1920), laid the foundation for the modern understanding and discussion of externalities.
Definitions and Concepts
An externality occurs when the activities of one party affect another party without this impact being reflected in market prices. Externalities can be either positive (beneficial) or negative (detrimental).
- Negative Externalities: These result in adverse effects, such as pollution (air, water, noise), which damage public health, environment, or property values—but the polluter does not bear the full cost of these damages.
- Positive Externalities: These create beneficial effects, such as a homeowner’s well-kept garden that provides scenic beauty to neighbors or the broader community, but the homeowner is not compensated for this benefit.
Further distinctions include:
- Technological Externalities: Influence others directly and non-market ways, e.g., downstream water pollution harming fisheries.
- Pecuniary Externalities: Operate through market mechanisms, such as a new industry increasing labor demand and thereby raising wages.
Major Analytical Frameworks
Classical Economics
Classical economists recognized the presence of externalities, though the analytical treatments were less developed. They focused more on the propensity for markets to self-regulate.
Neoclassical Economics
Neoclassical economists formalized the concept of externalities. Arthur Pigou particularly emphasized that negative externalities create inefficiencies correcting through governmental interventions like taxes or subsidies.
Keynesian Economics
While not directly focusing on externalities, Keynesians emphasize the role of government in steering economic activities which indirectly addresses externality issues by regulating economic impacts on society.
Marxian Economics
Marxian economists focus on how capitalism generates externalities as a byproduct of profit-seeking behavior, pushing for structural changes at a systemic level rather than just interventions.
Institutional Economics
Institutional economists critique and analyze externalities by examining them through the lens of broader institutional structures and legal frameworks guiding societal behavior.
Behavioral Economics
Behavioral economists explore how cognitive biases and imperfect information contribute to decision-making that does not internalize externalities adequately.
Post-Keynesian Economics
Post-Keynesians extend the Keynesian analysis to incorporate aspects of uncertainty and institutional contexts, bringing a holistic view to handling externalities.
Austrian Economics
Austrian economists, generally skeptical of governmental interventions, focus on how private negotiations and property rights can potentially internalize externalities without state interference.
Development Economics
Addresses the role of externalities in economic development, often focusing on environmental degradation and sustainable development in emerging economies.
Monetarism
Monetarism touches on externalities indirectly, especially through how inflationary policies might induce external costs on segments of the population.
Comparative Analysis
Different economic schools provide contrasting views on both the nature and solution of externalities. While neoclassical economists favor Pigouvian taxes and subsidies, Austrian economists are more inclined towards market-based solutions like property rights.
Case Studies
- London’s Air Pollution: The 1956 Clean Air Act in the UK as a response to severe smog conditions illustrates government intervention to mitigate negative externalities.
- Beekeeping and Agriculture on the countryside: An example of a positive externality where beekeepers and farmers indirectly benefit each other.
Suggested Books for Further Studies
- “The Economics of Welfare” by Arthur C. Pigou.
- “Economics in One Lesson” by Henry Hazlitt.
- “Microeconomic Theory and Public Policy” by Francis M. Berkoztar.
Related Terms with Definitions
- Compensation for Externalities: Mechanisms to ensure polluters/restorers compensate/are compensated for external costs/benefits.
- Consumption Externality: Occurs when the consumption of goods or services imposes costs or benefits on others.
- Internalizing Externalities: Efforts to ensure that the private transactions reflect their external costs or benefits.
- Network Externality: Occurs when the value of a good or service is increased as more people use it.
- Production Externality: Occurs when production has either a positive or negative side effect on other parties.
