Final answer:
Abatement costs refer to the costs incurred by firms in reducing pollution. These costs include capital expenditures and operating costs. Firms compare the cost of abatement to the cost of paying pollution taxes to determine their pollution reduction strategy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Abatement costs are the costs incurred by firms to reduce the quantity of pollutants emitted into the environment.
These costs include both capital expenditures and operating costs.
Firms may choose to reduce pollution to comply with regulations or to avoid paying higher taxes on pollution.
The firm will compare the cost of abatement to the cost of paying the pollution tax, and will decide how much to pollute and how much to abate based on these costs.