Incentives And Environmental Policies

This book contains a collection of papers on economic incentives and environmental policies which result from the authors' joint research work in the program `Environment, Science and Society', conducted under the auspices of the European Science Foundation, with whose cooperation the book has been published. The work concentrates on the scientific and methodological aspects of the development, implementation and evaluation of economic instruments at a national level. The research is both theoretical and empirical. At a theoretical level attention is given to the dynamics of instrument choice in various political and economic contexts, and to the means for evaluating economic instruments in terms of their effectiveness and efficiency. At an empirical level the research seeks to investigate the performance of economic instruments in reality and to explore options for new approaches on the interface between technology, economy and the environment. A subject index complements this first volume in the ESF `Environment, Science and Society' series.

The economic protection of the quality of the environment took shape properly in the middle of the 20th Century when various economic instruments were proposed to policymakers. Today, protecting the environment is essential, as evidenced in the rise in temperatures, the melting of the icecaps, the disappearance of animal species, etc. Moreover, with recent advances in other disciplines (notably in psychology), economists are turning more and more towards non-monetary forms of incentive. However, questions concerning the effectiveness of these forms arise. Incentives and Environmental Policies deals with the role of the economy in protecting the environment by revisiting traditional economic instruments and pursuing an advanced consideration of the role of new forms of incentive. It appears that, in order to strive towards the best possible environmental quality, policymakers will have to take into account the future of many combinations of socially acceptable incentives.

Focusing on the practical aspects of using economic incentives to achieve environmental goals, this book analyzes the design and implementation of market based programs and identifies critical issues for creating successful programs in the future. The book examines the conditions in which market incentives are most useful and probes the important new roles of both government and the private sector. It highlights the administrative, institutional, organizational, and informational requirements for successful operation of the programs, and it especially stresses the importance of program evaluation. This analysis is based on case studies of four programs at different levels of government--local, state, federal, and overseas--that use different tools--credit trading, direct taxes, variable fee structures, and refunds: the air credit trading program in the Los Angeles metropolitan area; the national pollution charge system of Russia; the recycling initiative of King County, Washington; and the deposit refund system of Michigan. Distributed for the National Academy of Public Administration

Sets forth in a straightforward and sensible way the philosophical reasons for the non-economist's skepticism of the economist's view of the world. Its relevance extends beyond environmental issues to other areas where microeconomic theory is being applied to public policy. Kelman cites results to confirm his view that both opponents and supporters of economic incentives have important philosophical concerns. He takes the role of an advocate of the use of incentives in formulating an environmental policy. He also discusses political strategy from the point of view of the policy entrepreneur who is trying to get ideas adopted. Economists and non-economists alike will welcome this book as a bridge over a perceptual gap in an important area of policymaking.

Although economists have long advocated the use of economic instruments in the implementation of environmental policy, they have only recently gained acceptance. There is a growing consensus within the European Union that both Member States and the environment would benefit from the use of such incentive-based economic instruments. Environment, Incentives and the Common Market has been written by members of the Study Group on the Environment and Economics of the National Environmental Forum, which includes economists and social scientists from all the major Dutch universities and research institutes. The book covers a wide range of topics on the use of taxation and tradeable permits in a variety of abatement policies. It concludes with comments on political feasibility.

This book makes a major and original contribution to the "incentives vs. standards" debate by showing how different targets (the points at which incentives are applied) affect the ability of regulation to provide environmental protection at lowest possible cost.

This book summarises the results of an OECD project which collected and analysed data from the business sector on their motivations and decision-making processes relating to the environment.