How much does the environment affect human health? Is air pollution shortening our lives and those of our children? These questions are fundamental to environmental policies. Air pollution is a major environmental health threat in OECD countries, contributing to a number of illnesses, such as...

The purpose of the paper is to review the recent empirical literature relating to the quantification and valuation of the human health impacts of air pollution, hazardous chemicals, and unsafe water and sanitation, and their use in cost-benefit analysis, as an input to environmental policy...

Environmental conditions are likely to have an effect on people’s sense of life satisfaction, both directly and indirectly. In recent years there has been a burgeoning literature assessing the relationship between measures of environmental quality and subjective well-being. This type of...

This paper reviews the recent experience of Germany in encouraging innovation to reduce negative environmental impacts of economic activity. The essence of the German approach to policy-induced environmental innovation is discussed in the context of changing policy objectives, and illustrated...

This report focusses on the determinants of household waste generation, the separation of recyclables and waste prevention behaviours. It presents the econometric results of follow-up analysis of the 2011 OECD Survey on Environmental Policy and Individual Behaviour Change (EPIC). This report...

Global trade in plastic waste and scrap declined further (2017-2022) in 2022. The combined trade surplus of OECD Member Countries (i.e. the difference between exports and imports) continued to decrease. Less plastic waste and scrap is being exported by OECD countries to non-OECD countries,...

This paper examines the challenges and policy imperatives involved in implementing the Polluter Pays principle (PPP) in the context of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). It presents the state of play of the Polluter Pays principle in EU Member States. It also analyses the coherence with other...

This paper is part of a subset of working papers within the Environment Working Paper series, presenting research on the enabling environment for investment in water security. The subset includes country and regional projects aimed at pilot testing the Scorecard, designed to assess the enabling...

This paper examines the current status of water availability, water demand, and influences from climate change in the European Union. It provides an overview of economic policy instruments to address water scarcity and manage water demand. Additionally, the paper explores policy options and...

This paper examines three sets of issues related to strategic investment planning and financing for water: i) Investment planning in an uncertain context; ii) The benefits of supplementing project level planning with a consideration for pathways of investments; iii) Facilitating access to a...