Theoretical and empirical aspects of policy failures due to subsidies are discussed in the context of international trade. A general classification of subsidies that cause environmental externalities is presented. The economic and environmental impacts of producer subsidies on international...

Increased spatial dependency of economic activities, as well as spatial differentiation of production and consumption, has implication for environmental policy. One of the issues that has gained importance is the responsibility for the emissions from products that cross national boundaries...

The potential relationship between domestic environmental regulation and internationalcompetitiveness has evoked various speculations. The common neoclassical train of thought is thatstrict environmental regulation is detrimental to the competitiveness of industry, and that itinduces phenomena...

We empirically investigate the responsiveness of international trade to the stringency of environmental regulation. Stringent environmental regulation may impair the export competitiveness of ‘dirty’ domestic industries, and as a result, ‘pollution havens’ emerge in countries where...

Until recently, the interaction between environmental quality, economic activity and growth is predominantly considered in an a-spatial context. Traditional neoclassical growth theory following Solow/Swan has mainly addressed questions about environmental and resource limits to growth. Recently,...

We consider the microfoundations controversy from the perspective of economic evolution. Although the analogy between biology and economics has been noted before, it has rarely focused on clarifying the micro–macro distinction in economic theory and modelling. The micro–macro debate is more...

Most insights of environmental economics are in line with the standard neoclassicaleconomic model of rational behaviour, formulated in terms of maximization of utility ingeneral, or profits in particular. The standard theory of environmental policy is a casein point. However, the maximization...

The relationship between trade and material flows is examined by viewing theglobal economy from the perspective of international material-product chains(MPC). The international MPC covers the complete lifecycle of a material or aproduct in two or more regions, including extraction, production,...

Is there a case to be made for preferential treatment of the exposed sector in an economy when compliance to an aggregate emissions constraint induced by an international environmental agreement is mandatory? This question is being debated in many countries, including The Netherlands, in the...

Market-based instruments are believed to create more efficient incentives for firmsto adopt new technologies than command-and-control policies. We compare the effects of a directtechnology regulation and of an adoption subsidy under asymmetric information about the costsof technological advances...