The Productivity Commission’s inquiry report into ‘Waste Management’ was tabled by Government in December 2006. The Australian Government asked the Commission to identify policies that would enable Australia to address market failures and externalities associated with the generation and...

The Productivity Commission released its final research report into ‘Rural Water Use and the Environment: The Role of Market Mechanisms’ in August 2006. The report indicates that there is scope for markets to play a greater role in improving the efficient use of water, including for...

Frame analysis has been often used by scholars studying New Social Movements to analyze their discourses and their ability to mobilise people. This paper refers to the application of 'frame analysis' to a different context, namely to discourses of both social movements and institutional actors...

In the last decade, as many other European countries, the Italian Government adopted several reforms in order to increase the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). The liberalization of the electricity market that represents one of these reforms aims to reach environmental benefits from the...

This paper investigates the impact of alternative environmental policy instruments on technological innovations aiming to improve energy-efficiency in buildings. The empirical analysis focuses on three main types of policy instruments, namely regulatory energy standards in buildings codes,...

This paper reviews (critically and selectively) the literature on the link between economic development, the environment and international trade (and capital flows). In particular, how stricter environmental regulation in the North affects trade and capital movements between the North and the...

Promoting investments in energy saving technologies is an important means forachieving environmental goals. Unfortunately, the empirical evidence on successconditions of policies isscarce. Based on a survey among Dutch firms, this paper sets out to identify thefactors that determine the...