Introduction The context for this year's Budget differs sharply from most of those in the past decade and a half. The global economy has been buffeted by crises in financial markets. Oil prices, even after recent falls, are at very high levels. Furthermore, the sharp decline in housing activity...

David Pearce's Blueprint for a Green Economy, based on a report for the then Conservative UK government, encouraged a major change of government view to the effect that market-based policies "offer the prospect of a more efficient and flexible response to environmental issues". The policies he...