We analyze the impact of trade in a differentiated good on environmental policy when there is local and transboundary pollution. In autarky, the (equivalent) pollution tax is set equal to the marginal damage from own emissions. If the strategic policy instrument is a tax, leakage occurs under trade and tends to lower the tax. The net terms of trade effect, due to the exportable and importable v...

International cooperation will be critical to solving the world's toughest environmental problems, including climate change, ozone depletion, and biodiversity. Regrettably, most evidence suggests that the 1,000 or so different International Environmental Agreements (IEAs) operating today are ineffectual, merely ratifying business-as-usual outcomes and doing little to improve the environment. Bu...

We survey those recent developments in environmental and resource economics that have been prompted by a puzzling cultural phenomenon, where one group (usually natural scientists) sees in humanity's current use of Nature's services symptoms of a deep malaise, even while another group (usually economists) documents the fact that people today are on average better off in many ways than they had e...

Decentralization can improve service delivery, but it can also generate externalities across jurisdictional boundaries. We examine the nature and size of water pollution externalities as rivers flow across jurisdictions. Panel data on water pollution in Brazilian rivers coupled with county splits that change the locations of borders allow us to identify the spatial patterns of pollution as rive...

The sustainability debate concerns whether the world will experience stable or improving living standards for the foreseeable future, or whether the current trajectory will overtax the natural environment, leading to a ‘crash’ in living standards. This paper selectively reviews relevant research, focusing on both ecological concerns and technological progress, and asks whether sustainability wo...

JEL classification: C31 D6 O13 Q56 The measurement of natural capital and its management during the economic development process are important aspects of the capital approach to sustainable development. However, the assessment of social welfare in terms of genuine savings (or changes in total wealth per capita) is arguably too limited. This paper tries to make a case for the incorporation of su...

Using panel data on water pollution in Brazilian rivers, we study inter-jurisdictional externalities when more jurisdictions start managing the same river segment. Counties split at each election cycle, which change the locations of borders. This allow us to identify the effects of border crossings and the spatial pattern of pollution as rivers approach borders, controlling for fixed effects an...

Voltage is an important parameter that regulates the open probability of both intercellular channels (gap junctions) and undocked hemichannels formed by members of the connexin gene family. All connexin channels display two distinct voltage-gating processes, termed loop- or slow-gating and V(j)- or fast-gating, which are intrinsic hemichannel properties. Previous studies have established that t...

Paragraph 31(iii) of the Doha Ministerial Declaration mandates to the liberalization of environmental goods and services. This mandate offers a good opportunity to put climate-friendly goods and services on a fast track to liberalization. Agreement on this paragraph should represent one immediate contribution that the WTO can make to fight against climate change. This paper presents the key iss...

A better understanding of household water use in developing countries is necessary to manage and expand water systems more effectively. Several meta-analyzes have examined the determinants of household water demand in industrialized countries, but little effort has been made to synthesize the growing body of literature evaluating household water demand in developing countries. This article revi...