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...

This paper empirically examines the vehicle type regulation that was introduced under the Automobile Nitrogen Oxides-Particulate Matter Law to mitigate air pollution problems in Japanese metropolitan areas. The vehicle type regulation effectively sets various timings of vehicle retirement by the...

On a theoretical front, environmental economists have one last pollution problem to contend with and that is the issue of non-point source pollution (NPSP). The issue of NPSP is important on many levels but central to this field is how to efficiently regulate what you cannot observe? A promising...

Applying methods of textual and stylometric analysis to all 119,225 speeches made in the Canadian House of Commons between 2006 and 2011, we establish that air pollution reduces the speech quality of Canadian Members of Parliament (MPs). Exposure to fine particulate matter concentrations...

This paper extends the existing theory of tradable emissions permit markets to allow for tradable permits and offsets. Offsets are currently incorporated into the EU ETS, and in the future similar assets will likely become a feature of many pollution control systems. A model is developed with...

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)...