Climate Change, Transport and Environmental Policy: Empirical Applications in a Federal System(New Horizons in Environmental Economics series)

This important new book presents a state-of-the-art assessment of how economic models can be used by different levels of government to combat environmental problems. It considers policies for climate change and transport that can be used at federal and confederal levels of government.The authors examine the unique aspects of environmental policy making in a multi-layered government using empirical case studies covering Europe and the US. They consider the causes of pollution at three levels - federal government, local government and industries and firms. Concentrating on greenhouse gas abatement and the transport sector, they use quantitative techniques to compare alternative policy solutions. This quantitative approach overcomes problems of some inconclusive theoretical prescriptions, which often depend on combinations of particular parameter values. In addition, this method makes it possible to investigate the costs and benefits of a particular solution, and the distribution effects between different groups. This approach also provides insights into the economic consequences of the application of local versus national or federal policies. Climate Change, Transport and Environmental Policy provides the necessary analysis required for environmental policy making in that it uses a quantitative approach to balance the costs and benefits of alternative policy options. Climate Change, Transport and Environmental Policy is an important addition to the literature and will be welcomed by environmental policymakers at the local, regional, national and international level as well as scholars and postgraduate students in environmental economics and public policy.

Table of Contents:
Contents: 1. Introductory 2. Alternative CO2 Abatement Strategies for the European Union 3. National Economic Impacts of an EU Environmental Policy: An Applied General Equilibrium Analysis 4. Environmental Fiscal Reforms in a Federal Europe 5. Coordinated versus non-coordinated European Energy/Carbon Tax Solutions Analysed with GEM-E3 Linking the EU-12 Countries 6. Who’s in the Driver’s Seat? Mobile Source Policy in the US Federal System 7. Deriving and Selecting Policy Instruments to Meet Air Quality Standards in the European Union 8. Central Versus Local Regulation of Gasoline Related Automobile Emissions: The Contrasting Cases of Lead, CO and Precursors 9. Regional and Federal Interests in Transport and Environmental Policy Making: The Case of Belgium Contributors: J. Braden, C. Böhringer, B. de Borger, P. Capros, C. Carraro, K. Conrad, Z. Degraeve, C. Denis, M. Ferris, M. Galeotti, P. Georgakopoulous, J.V. Hall, W. Harrington, G.J. Koopman, V. McConnell, S. Ochelen, S. Proost, D. van Regemorter, T.F. Rutherford, T. Schmidt, D. Swysen, L. Teunen, M. Walls, S. Zografakis

About the Author :
Edited by Stef Proost, Associate Professor of Economics, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium and John B. Braden, Professor of Environmental Economics and Director of the Water Resources Center, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, US

Review :
'As a whole, the book is quite impressive. It takes a fresh look at a number of critical problems, and gives us a number of constructive insights . . . this reader believes that the book belongs on the shelf of any serious practitioner in this field. It also could prove to be quite beneficial as supplemental reading for graduate-level classes in environmental economics.'