The politicians' reactions to changing circumstances appear often sluggish. The decisions about the construction of a nuclear reprocessing plant at Wackersdorf, Germany, provide a recent example. Reprivatization of the company led to an immediate cancellation of the project due to its lack of...

This paper considers the dynamics of introducing pollution taxes when firms have to invest into abatement facilities. This accumulation of abatement capital, however, proceeds sluggishly. Therefore, actual policy proposals of pollution taxes consider a phased introduction. This paper considers...

The optimal intertemporal use of forests is a traditional and extensively investigated topic with recent emphasis on sustainable uses. The political discussion about the clearing of tropical forests adds a topical, policy dimension to this investigation. This study shows that cyclical policies...