Climate change ranks high on the policy agenda of the European Union (EU), which considers itself a leading force in the battle against anthropogenic climate change. The EU is committed to the objective of limiting the rise in global average temperature to no more than 2°C above preindustrial...

Despite several decades of government policies to promote energy efficiency, estimates of the costs and benefits of such policies remain controversial. At the heart of the controversy is whether there is an "energy efficiency gap," whereby consumers and firms fail to make seemingly positive net...

This article reviews and analyzes the issues related to worldwide hypoxic zones and the range of economic questions sorely in need of answers. We begin by describing the extent and causes of hypoxic zones worldwide, followed by a review of the evidence concerning ecological effects of hypoxic...

Large-scale experiments with the decentralization of forest management in South Asia have changed the relationship between forests, public institutions that manage forests, and rural households. But have these institutional changes led to reductions in forest degradation and improvements in...

This article examines the first two decades of the history of the Coase theorem in environmental economics, a period during which the theorem's validity was widely acknowledged but its relevance for economic analysis of environmental issues was almost universally dismissed. The repeated claims...

Uncertainty is intrinsic to climate change: we know that the climate is changing but not precisely how fast or in what ways. Nor do we understand fully the social and economic consequences of these changes or the options that will be available for reducing climate change. Furthermore, the...

Land-use regulations are contentious everywhere because of their potential negative effects on private property values. In recent years, so-called pay or waive compensation legislation was passed in a number of US states, requiring governments to compensate property owners for losses due to...