About the Author
Robert N. Stavins is the Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government, Director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, and Chairman of the Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Group.
Tag Archives: externalities
On the Origins of Research
In response to my last essay at this web site, “On Becoming an Environmental Economist,” several readers suggested that someday I should write about the origins of my various research initiatives over the past 25 years. Today, I’m doing that … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Policy, Economic Stimulus Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Fisheries Policy, Forest Policy, Health Policy, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resource Policy, Politics, Positive Political Economy, Water Policy, Wine Economics
Tagged benefit-cost analysis, cap-and-trade, common property resources, cost-effectiveness, distributional analysis, distributional equity, economic valuation, efficiency, environmental politics, externalities, free rider problem, global climate policy, Kyoto Protocol, linkage of cap-and-trade systems, market failure, market-based environmental policies, regulation, revenue-neutral taxes
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While International Climate Negotiations Continue, the World’s Ninth Largest Economy Takes an Important Step Forward
A little more than two weeks ago, while some 195 nations prepared to meet in Doha, Qatar, for the Eighteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-18) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in an ongoing effort to … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Economic Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Positive Political Economy
Tagged Brazil, California, cap-and-trade, COP-18, cost-effectiveness, Doha, European Union, externalities, global climate policy, India, market-based environmental policies, Qatar
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Can Market Forces Really be Employed to Address Climate Change?
Debate continues in the United States, Europe, and throughout the world about whether the forces of the marketplace can be harnessed in the interest of environmental protection, in particular, to address the threat of global climate change. In an essay … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Economic Policy, Economic Stimulus Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Politics, Positive Political Economy
Tagged California, cap-and-trade, cost-effectiveness, distributional equity, efficiency, environmental politics, European Union, externalities, global climate policy, market failure, market-based environmental policies, Obama Administration, regulation
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Reflections on Twenty Years of Policy Innovation
In 2009, the U.S. Congress considered but ultimately failed to enact legislation aimed at limiting U.S. greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. The bill under consideration at that time, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, was the last in a … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Economic Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Politics, Positive Political Economy
Tagged acid rain, cap-and-trade, cost-effectiveness, distributional analysis, efficiency, environmental politics, externalities, global climate policy, market failure, market-based environmental policies, Obama Administration, Office of Management and Budget, regulation, SO2 allowance trading, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Waxman-Markey legislation
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Economics of the Environment
The Sixth Edition of Economics of the Environment: Selected Readings has just been published by W. W. Norton & Company of New York and London. Through five previous editions, Economics of the Environment has served as a valuable supplement to … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Policy, Economic Stimulus Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Fisheries Policy, Forest Policy, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resource Policy, Politics, Positive Political Economy, Water Policy
Tagged Australia, benefit-cost analysis, Brazil, California, cap-and-trade, China, common property resources, cost-effectiveness, distributional analysis, distributional equity, economic valuation, efficiency, environmental politics, European Union, externalities, free rider problem, global climate policy, import allowance requirement, India, information problems, Japan, Korea, Kyoto Protocol, linkage of cap-and-trade systems, market failure, market-based environmental policies, Mexico, Obama Administration, Office of Management and Budget, public goods, regulation, revenue-neutral taxes, sulfur dioxide
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The Promise and Problems of Pricing Carbon
Friday, October 21st was a significant day for climate change policy worldwide and for the use of market-based approaches to environmental protection, but it went largely unnoticed across the country and around the world, outside, that is, of the State … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Economic Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Politics, Positive Political Economy
Tagged AB 32, Alberta, Australia, British Columbia, California, California Air Resources Board, cap-and-trade, carbon taxes, Clean Development, Clean Development Mechanism, Clean Energy Standards, collateral damage, common property resources, cost-effectiveness, distributional equity, efficiency, emission reduction credits, environmental politics, EU ETS, European Union, externalities, fossil fuel subsidies, free rider problem, global climate policy, harmonized carbon taxes, Harvard Kennedy School, international carbon tax, international tradable permits, Japan, Joseph Aldy, Journal of Environment and Development, Kyoto Protocol, leaded gasoline, linkage, linkage of cap-and-trade systems, Maria Damon, market failure, market-based environmental policies, New York Review of Books, New Zealand, North American Climate Initiative, Obama Administration, offsets, Ontario, political polarization, public goods, Quebec, regulation, Resources for the Future, revenue-neutral taxes, sulfur dioxide, tarnishing of cap-and-trade, Thomas Sterner, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Waxman-Markey legislation, William Nordhaus
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Reflecting on a Century of Progress and Problems
As the first decade of the twenty-first century comes to a close, the problem of the commons is more important to our lives – and more central to economics – than a century ago when the first issue of the … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Fisheries Policy, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resource Policy, Positive Political Economy
Tagged A. C. Pigou, American Economic Review, benefit-cost analysis, cap-and-trade, China, common property resources, cost-effectiveness, distributional analysis, distributional equity, economic valuation, efficiency, Elinor Ostrom, environmental politics, excludable, externalities, fisheries, free rider problem, Garrett Hardin, global climate policy, India, Indiana University, Katharine Coman, market failure, market-based environmental policies, non-excludable, non-renewable natural resource, open-access resource, private property, public goods, regulation, renewable natural resource, revenue-neutral taxes, rivalness, Ronald Coase, sulfur dioxide, Wellesley College
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Both Are Necessary, But Neither is Sufficient: Carbon-Pricing and Technology R&D Initiatives in a Meaningful National Climate Policy
For many years, there has been a great deal of discussion about carbon-pricing – whether carbon taxes or cap-and-trade – as an essential part of a meaningful national climate policy. It has long been recognized that although carbon-pricing will be … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Economic Stimulus Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resource Policy, Positive Political Economy
Tagged ARPA-E, cap-and-trade, carbon pricing, carbon tax, Copenhagen Accord, cost-effectiveness, David Leonhardt, efficiency, environmental politics, externalities, free rider problem, global climate policy, green jobs, information problems, market failure, market-based environmental policies, New York Times, Obama Administration, patents, public goods, R&D, regulation, revenue-neutral taxes, Robert Hahn, technological change, technology innovation, technology R&D policies, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Wall Street Journal, Waxman-Markey legislation
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Here We Go Again: A Closer Look at the Kerry-Lieberman Cap-and-Trade Proposal
As with the Waxman-Markey bill (H.R. 2454), passed by the House of Representatives last June, there is now some confusing commentary in the press and blogosphere about the allocation of allowances in the new Senate proposal — the American Power … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy
Tagged American Power Act, cap-and-trade, cost-effectiveness, distributional equity, efficiency, environmental politics, externalities, global climate policy, import allowance requirement, Kerry-Lieberman legislation, market-based environmental policies, Obama Administration, output-based updating allocation, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Waxman-Markey legislation
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Unintended Consequences of Government Policies: The Depletion of America’s Wetlands
Private land-use decisions can be affected dramatically by public investments in highways, waterways, flood control, or other infrastructure. The large movement of jobs from central cities to suburbs in the postwar United States and the ongoing destruction of Amazon rain … Continue reading
Posted in Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Forest Policy, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resource Policy, Water Policy
Tagged benefit-cost analysis, Clean Water Act, common property resources, econometric analysis, economic valuation, environmental politics, externalities, free rider problem, infrastructure, land use, market failure, public goods, regulation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Soil Conservation Service, wetlands
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Three Pillars of a New Climate Pact
THE climate change summit at the United Nations on Tuesday, September 22nd, is aimed to build momentum for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December, where nations will continue … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy
Tagged Australia, Canada, cap-and-trade, carbon leakage, China, climate agreements, COP-15, cost-effectiveness, distributional equity, European Union, externalities, free rider problem, G20, global climate policy, growth targets, international climate policy architecture, Japan, Kyoto Protocol, linkage of cap-and-trade systems, market-based environmental policies, New Zealand, Obama Administration, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, United Nations, Waxman-Markey legislation
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Too Good to be True?
Global climate change is a serious environmental threat, and sound public policies are needed to address it effectively and sensibly. There is now significant interest and activity within both the U.S. Administration and the U.S. Congress to develop a meaningful … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy
Tagged AB 32, benefit-cost analysis, California, cap-and-trade, common property resources, cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, environmental politics, externalities, free rider problem, global climate policy, market-based environmental policies, regulation, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Waxman-Markey legislation
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Policies Can Work in Strange Ways
Whether the policy domain is global climate change or local hazardous waste, it’s exceptionally important to understand the interaction between public policies and technological change in order to assess the effects of laws and regulations on environmental performance. Several years … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy
Tagged chlorine, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Cluster Rule, Compensation, Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, econometric analysis, environmental politics, externalities, global climate policy, green jobs, hazardous waste, Minamata, Montreal Protocol, pulp and paper, regulation, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, technological change, Toxics Release Inventory
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Is Benefit-Cost Analysis Helpful for Environmental Regulation?
With the locus of action on Federal climate policy moving this week from the House of Representatives to the Senate, this is a convenient moment to step back from the political fray and reflect on some fundamental questions about U.S. … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resource Policy
Tagged benefit-cost analysis, cost-effectiveness, distributional analysis, distributional equity, economic valuation, efficiency, environmental politics, externalities, first welfare theorem, global climate policy, information problems, market failure, monetary values, Obama Administration, Office of Management and Budget, regulation, Regulatory Impact Analysis, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, uncertainty, Waxman-Markey legislation
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Straight Talk about Corporate Social Responsibility
Critical thinking about “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) is needed, because there are few topics where discussions feature greater ratios of heat to light. With this in mind, two of my Harvard colleagues – law professor Bruce Hay and business school … Continue reading
A Tale of Two Taxes
Whether they are called “revenue enhancements” or “user charges,” fear of the political consequences of taxes restricts debate on energy and environmental policy options in Washington. In a March 7th post on “Green Jobs,” in which I argued that it … Continue reading
Posted in Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy
Tagged cost-effectiveness, distributional equity, efficiency, environmental politics, externalities, gasoline taxes, global climate policy, green jobs, market failure, market-based environmental policies, revenue-neutral taxes
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Misconceptions About Water Pricing
Throughout the United States, water management has been approached primarily as an engineering problem, rather than an economic one. Water supply managers are reluctant to use price increases as water conservation tools, instead relying on non-price demand management techniques, such … Continue reading
The Myth of the Universal Market
Communication among economists, other social scientists, natural scientists, and lawyers is far from perfect. When the topic is the environment, discourse across disciplines is both important and difficult. Economists themselves have likely contributed to some misunderstandings about how they think … Continue reading