Intertemporal Welfare Economics and the Environment
Heal, Geoffrey, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
I review the complex welfare economic issues that arise in environmental decision-making over very long periods, as in cases relating to climate change and biodiversity loss. I also consider the...
The Economics of Climate Policy
Kolstad, Charles D., Toman, Michael, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
Economics has played an increasingly important role in shaping policy, in the United States and elsewhere. This chapter reviews some of the dimensions of the economic approach to analyzing,...
Handbook of Environmental Economics
Environmental Degradation, Institutional Responses
Handbook of Environmental Economics
Environmental Degradation, Institutional Responses
Levin, Simon A., Pacala, Stephen W., K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
From ecosystems we derive food and fiber, fuel and pharmaceuticals. Ecosystems mediate local and regional climates, stabilize soils, purify water, and in general provide a nearly endless list of...
Economics of common property management regimes
Baland, Jean-Marie, Platteau, Jean-Philippe, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
The purpose of this chapter is to identify the reasons for collective action failures and successes in natural resource management, and to understand, in the light of economic theory, the mode of...
Population, poverty, and the natural environment
Dasgupta, Partha, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
This chapter studies the interface in poor countries of population growth, rural poverty, and deterioration of the local natural-resource base, a subject that has been much neglected by modern...
The theory of pollution policy
Helfand, Gloria E., Berck, Peter, Maull, Tim, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
Physically, pollution occurs because it is virtually impossible to have a productive process that involves no waste; economically, pollution occurs because polluting is less expensive than operating...
Mechanism design for the environment
Baliga, Sandeep, Maskin, Eric, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
We argue that when externalities such as pollution are nonexcludable, agents must be compelled to participate in a "mechanism" to ensure a Pareto-efficient outcome. We survey some of the main...
The political economy of environmental policy
Oates, Wallace E., Portney, Paul R., K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
This chapter provides a review and assessment of the extensive literature on the political determination of environmental regulation. A promising theoretical literature has emerged relatively...
Experience with market-based environmental policy instruments
Stavins, Robert N., K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
Environmental policies typically combine the identification of a goal with some means to achieve that goal. This chapter focuses exclusively on the second component, the means -- the "instruments" --...
Experimental evaluations of policy instruments
Bohm, Peter, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
Experimental methods have recently been used to evaluate environmental policy instruments, in particular -- and most suitably, it seems -- emissions trading programs of various designs. Some studies...
Chapter 11 Technological change and the environment
Jaffe, Adam B., Newell, Richard G., Stavins, Robert N., K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
Environmental policy discussions increasingly focus on issues related to technological change. This is partly because the environmental consequences of social activity are frequently affected by the...
Bockstael, Nancy E., Freeman III, A. Myrick, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
Public policies that lead to a reduction in the emissions of air and water pollutants or the protection of sensitive ecosystems presumably increase the well-being of many members of society. Applied...
Environment, Uncertainty, and Option Values
Maler, Karl-Goran, Fisher, Anthony, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
We analyze in this chapter decision-making when costs and benefits of an action are uncertain, that is, when future preferences are uncertain. We begin, in Section 2, with the classical analysis by...
Valuing the Environment as a Factor of Production
McConnell, Kenneth E., Bockstael, Nancy E., K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
This chapter explores the theory and practice of measuring the economic costs and benefits of environmental changes that influence production, both in the context of firms and of households. The...
Phaneuf, Daniel J., Smith, V. Kerry, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
Travel cost recreation demand models stem from a simple, but penetrating, insight. Consumption of an outdoor recreation site's services requires the user to incur the costs of a trip to that site....
Carson, Richard T., Hanemann, W. Michael, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
Value estimates for environmental goods can be obtained by either estimating preference parameters as "revealed" through behavior related to some aspect of the amenity or using "stated" information...
Cognitive Processes in Stated Preference Methods
Fischhoff, Baruch, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
Cognitive psychology is best known, to many environmental economists, through the filter of acrimonious debates over the validity of contingent valuation methods (CVM). Psychologists' views on CVM...
Experimental Methods and Valuation
Shogren, Jason F., K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
This chapter explores how economists use experimental methods to understand better the behavioral underpinnings of environmental valuation. Economic experiments, in the lab or field, are an...
Quantifying and Valuing Environmental Health Risks
Viscusi, W. Kip, Gayer, Ted, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
This chapter provides an overview of the current methodology for assessing environmental health risks. Our primary focus is on the practices that U.S. regulatory agencies use for assessing cancer...
National income and the environment
Heal, Geoffrey, Kristrom, Bengt, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
In this chapter, we review the concept of national income and the economic theory of national income accounting. There are two building blocks - the ideas of Fisher, Lindahl, Hicks about income as an...
Economic growth and the environment
Xepapadeas, Anastasios, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
Environmental pollution is introduced both as a joint product and as a source of disutility in growth models. The purpose is to explore vital questions such as: is environmental protection compatible...
CGE Modeling of Environmental Policy and Resource Management
Bergman, Lars, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
Computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling is an attempt to use general equilibrium theory as a tool for analysis of resource allocation and income distribution issues in market economies. Since...
Calculating the Costs of Environmental Regulation
Pizer, William A., Kopp, Raymond, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
Decisions concerning environmental protection hinge on estimates of economic burden. Over the past 30 years, economists have developed and applied various tools to measure this burden. In this...
Environmental implications of non-environmental policies
Markandya, Anil, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
This chapter seeks to understand the linkages between non-environmental polices and the environment, with a particular focus on taxation and subsidies. In order to understand the quite complex...
International Trade, Foreign Investment, and the Environment
Rauscher, Michael, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
The 1990s produced a large literature on foreign trade and the environment, including both theoretical and empirical contributions. The paper surveys this literature. It starts by looking at the...
The theory of international environmental agreements
Barrett, Scott, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
This chapter presents the theory of international environmental agreements (IEAs). It explains what treaties do (or should do); when and why they succeed or fail; and whether they can be designed...
Polasky, Stephen, Costello, Christopher, Solow, Andrew, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
The conservation of biodiversity is a major environmental issue, one that promises to remain at or near the top of the environmental agenda for the foreseeable future. The loss of biodiversity...
Geophysical and geochemical aspects of environmental degradation
Bolin, Bert, K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
The environmental system is characterized by an interplay of geophysical and geochemical processes that provide a setting for life. Now that human interventions are affecting the global system as a...
Property rights, public goods and the environment
Starrett, David A., K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
We delineate the various ways in which rights to environmental and other resources can be assigned to individuals or groups. We then examine models of individual and group interactions, drawing out...
Palmquist, Raymond B., K. G. Mäler, J. R. Vincent
One of the only places where environmental quality is traded on explicit markets is real estate. There are several techniques that can be used to study the effects of environmental quality on...