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...

While the basic principles of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) are long-standing, the challenges entailed in applying these principles are constantly evolving. This paper reviews recent developments in environmental CBA since the publication of an OECD volume on this topic by Pearce et al. (2006)....

Resource efficiency and circular economy policies aim at reducing resource intensity and use throughout the economy, thereby decreasing environmental impacts. Besides the environmental benefits expected from these policies, potential employment benefits are often emphasised, which would follow...

This report investigates the effects of a resource efficiency and circular economy (RE-CE) transition on international trade flows, using the OECD’s ENV-Linkages model. A global RE-CE policy package will cause secondary materials to become cheaper, while primary materials become more expensive...

Outdoor air pollution is a major determinant of health worldwide. The greatest public health effects are from increased mortality in adults. However, both PM and O3 also cause a wide range of other, less serious, health outcomes; and there are effects on mortality and morbidity of other...

This paper reviews and discusses the existing methods for placing a value on the effects of chemicals on human health and the environment. It surveys both methods and non-market methods, discussing their advantage and limitations. For example, when valuing non-fatal illnesses, the...

The purpose of this working paper is to review existing chemical risk assessment methods in the context of supporting socio-economic cost-benefit analysis, focusing on more “typical” risk assessments that may not have strong epidemiologic data and/or were not originally designed to support...

This paper reviews and discusses existing methodologies for transferring and extrapolating the economic value of health and environmental impacts across chemicals, and identifies challenges with such value transfer and when it can be suitable. The value transfer methodologies describes can be...