Economics and Environmental Policy

Over the last two decades economic analysis has begun to offer increasingly sophisticated and useful insights into environmental problems. Tom Tietenberg has had a significant impact on recent innovations which have enlarged the range of economic policy instruments at our disposal as well as transforming the roles of the various institutions responsible for implementation and enforcement.Economics and Environmental Policy includes Professor Tietenberg's most important essays on economics and environmental policy written over a 20 year period. It includes papers on the integration of economic incentives into pollution control which cover theoretical work and empirical studies as well as overviews of emission trading and emission charges. Later papers concentrate on the judicial role in environmental policy, including the perverse incentives created by specific legal doctrines, and environmental enforcement, which deals with issues such as creative penalty structures and the empowerment of nongovernmental organizations. The final papers deal with sustainable development and, in particular, the role of poverty, the need for technology and capital transfers, and the pricing of depletable resources. The essays in this collection address not only theoretical and practical matters associated with environmental policy, but also design and implementation issues. By improving access to Tom Tietenberg's many important contributions, this volume makes a significant addition to the literature on environmental theory and practice.