An Experimental Investigation of Repeated Auctions and Secondary Market Trading in Emissions Markets with Bankable Allowances

By Matthew Olson , Karla Hoffman , Daniel Houser

We report data from laboratory emissions allowance markets in which allowances do not expire and can be banked between compliance periods.

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We report data from laboratory emissions allowance markets in which allowances do not expire and can be banked between compliance periods. These periods consist of a sealed bid auction, trading, and then compliance. The markets consist of multiple sequential compliance periods. We observe (1) market prices reflect an expectation of future market prices, not underlying equilibrium; (2) allowance banking increases with uncertainty; and (3) the secondary market—not the auction—is the primary mechanism of overall market efficiency. Contrary to our hypotheses, we also find (4) no efficiency difference resulting from the use of a uniform price or discriminative price auction and (5) no price or efficiency differences resulting from differing bid reporting rules after the auctions.