An imperfectly-informed regulator needs to procure multiple units of some good that can be produced with heterogeneous technologies at various costs. How should it optimally procure these units? We find that one size does not fit all: the preferred instrument depends on the costs of the available technologies, their degree of substitutability, the extent of information asymmetry,...

Article published in Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice Congestion and local air pollution continue to be a serious problem in many cities around...  

Output-based allocations (OBAs) are typically used in emission trading schemes to mitigate leakage in sectors at risk. Recent work has shown they may also help to stabilize prices in markets subject to supply and demand shocks. We extend previous work to simultaneously include both leakage and volatility.

The paper studies pollution permit markets in which a fraction of permits are allocated to firms based on their output. Output-based allocations, which are receiving increasing attention in the design of carbon markets around the world are shown to be optimal under demand and supply volatility despite the output distortions they may create.