This paper examines the application of quasi-experimental methods in environmental economics. We begin with two observations: (i) standard quasi-experimental methods, first applied in other microeconomic fields, typically assume unit-level treatments that do not spill over across units; (ii)...

This paper summarizes the economics perspective on recycling of municipal solid waste. The first section reviews recent data on recycling rates in the United States and across all OECD countries. The OECD data suggest the average aggregate recycling rate across member countries appears to have...

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and its gaseous precursors travel long distances, crossing state boundaries. The “good neighbor” provisions of the Clean Air Act require the U.S. EPA and States to address the cross-state transport of air pollution that affects states' ability to attain the...

Decisions concerning environmental protection hinge on estimates of economic burden. Over the past 30 years, economists have developed and applied various tools to measure this burden. In this chapter, we present a taxonomy of costs along with methods for measuring those costs. At the broadest...

Using the numerical technique of value iteration, this paper imposes several sustainability constraints on a simple multi-sector agroecosystem model, and provides analysis of the costs tradeoffs of the product and externality affected sectors both within and between generations. Results show...

Using a unique plant-level dataset we examine total factor productivity (TFP) growth and its components, related to efficiency change and technical change. The data we use is from Sweden and for their pulp and paper industry, which is heavily regulated due to its historically large contribution...

This paper examines the application of quasi-experimental methods in environmental economics. We begin with two observations: i) standard quasi-experimental methods, first applied in other microeconomic fields, typically assume unit-level treatments that do not spill over across units; (ii)...

Using a unique plant-level dataset we examine total factor productivity (TFP) growth and its components, related to efficiency change and technical change. The data we use is from Sweden and for their pulp and paper industry, which is heavily regulated due to its historically large contribution...

The report summarizes first-year research of a three-year study of pathways to urban sustainability. The research team selected the STAR Communities assessment model as the backbone for its analysis. This framework offers a menu-based system for enabling city managers and leaders to build paths...