Given that it is difficult to monitor, and even more so to enforce, International Environmental Agreements, it is surprising that they are signed and implemented. This paper offers a theoretical model, which addresses the phenomena. The focus is on informational and coordination problems--a...

A government can use several mechanisms to induce firms to reduce pollution. Well studied are regulations by price and by quantity. We consider a third form of regulation -- government allocates a budget to an agency which subsidizes abatement. We demonstrate that uncertainty can make such...

A linear tax on an externality-generating activity may not attain the first-best social optimum. The problem arises because a monopolist’s gain from improving the characteristics of a product may differ from the social gain, even when consumers are willing to pay for the change.