Economic modelling approaches to cost estimates for the control of carbon dioxide emissions

This article gives an assessment of the relative strengths and weaknesses of a variety of economic modelling approaches commonly used for cost estimates for limiting carbon emissions, including the ad hoc approach, dynamic optimization approach, input-output approach, macroeconomic approach, computable general equilibrium approach and the hybrid approach. It illustrates how these economic approaches are able to shed light on different aspects of the control of carbon emissions. Some conclusions with respect to the applicability of each approach are drawn. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.