What are the impacts on environmental effectiveness and economic efficiency of using an “instrument mix”, rather than a single instrument, to address a given environmental problem? What are the main arguments for using such instrument mixes, and are the instrument mixes currently in use...

Do voluntary approaches deliver the expected environmental benefits? Do they help reach environmental targets in a cost-effective way? This report provides an assessment of the use of voluntary approaches building on a number of new case studies. Analysis is on the environmental effectiveness,...

The OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook presents, in a series of country profiles, the main features, strengths and weaknesses of national STI systems and major recent changes in national STI policy. The statistical dimension of the country profiles has drawn on the work and empirical...

Voluntary approaches include environmental agreements negotiated with industry and public programs which firms can volunteer to participate in. They are increasingly supplementing or replacing other environmental policy instruments, such as regulations, taxes and tradable permits