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Environmental Economics

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Topic: Environmental Economics

Sort Desciption: Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 28 98-113. Harrison D. Jr. 1999. ... Vincent eds. The Handbook of Environmental Economics. ...

Content Inside: 1616 P St. NW Washington DC 20036 202-328-5000 www.rff.org December 2004 RFF DP 04-54 Environmental Economics Robert N. Stavins DISCUSSION PAPER E NVIRONMENTAL E CONOMICS Robert N. Stavins John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University and Resources for the Future Prepared for The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics 2 nd Edition Lawrence Blume and Steven Durlauf General Editors London: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. December 23 2004 Send Comments to: Prof. Robert N. Stavins John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University 79 John F. Kennedy Street Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 Phone: 617-495-1820 Fax: 617-496-3783 E-Mail: robert_stavins@harvard.edu 2004 Resources for the Future. All rights reserved. No portion of this paper may be reproduced without permission of the authors. Discussion papers are research materials circulated by their authors for purposes of information and discussion. They have not necessarily undergone formal peer review. ABSTRACT This article prepared for the forthcoming second edition of the New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics provides an overview of the economics of environmental policy. Included are the setting of goals and targets notably the Kaldor-Hicks criterion and the related method of assessment known as benefit-cost analysis. Also reviewed are the means of environmental policy that is the choice of specific policy instruments featuring an examination of potential criteria for assessing alternative instruments with focus on cost-effectiveness. The theoretical foundations and experiential highlights of individual instruments are reviewed including conventional command-and-control mechanisms and market-based instruments. Keywords: environmental economics efficiency cost-effectiveness benefit-cost analysis market-based instruments tradable permits pollution taxes JEL Classification: K320 Q280 Q380 Q480 * Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government Dir ...