PIGOUVIAN TAX: A tax on an external cost, such as pollution, designed to use market forces to achieve an efficient allocation of resources. A. C. Pigou, one of the first economists to study the market failure of externalities, is credited with developing this tax system for internalizing costs external to the market. An external cost caused by pollution, for example, can be internalized if polluters pay a tax equal to the value of the external cost. See also | tax | externality | pollution | market failure | efficiency | market | demand curve | supply curve | materials balance | recycling | regulation | Coase theorem | command and control | pollution rights market |
