Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Economics and the environment -- Global climate change -- Organization and content of this book -- What we hope readers will take away from this book -- Economic efficiency and environmental protection -- Economic efficiency -- Efficiency and environmental policy -- Equating benefits and costs on the margin -- Dynamic efficiency and environmental policy -- Conclusion -- The benefits and costs of environmental protection -- Measuring costs -- Evaluating the benefits -- Benefit-cost analysis -- Conclusion -- The efficiency of markets -- Competitive market equilibrium -- The efficiency of competitive markets -- Conclusion -- Market failures in the environmental realm -- Externalities -- Public goods -- The tragedy of the commons -- Conclusions -- Managing stocks: natural resources as capital assets -- Economic scarcity -- Efficient extraction in two periods -- A closer look at the efficient extraction path -- The critical role of property rights -- Conclusion -- Stocks that grow: the economics of renewable resource management -- Economics of forest resources -- Fisheries -- Conclusion -- Principles of market-based environmental policy -- Array of policy instruments -- Market-based policies can overcome market failure -- Is it preferable to set prices or quantities? -- Conclusions -- The case for market-based instruments in the real world -- Reducing costs -- Promoting technological change -- Marked-based instruments for managing natural resources -- Other considerations -- Conclusions -- Market based instruments in practice -- The U.S. sulfur dioxide market -- Individual tradable quotas for fishing in New Zealand -- Municipal water pricing -- Water quality trading -- Waste management: "pay as you throw" -- Habitat and land management -- Conclusions -- Sustainability and economic growth -- Limits to growth? -- Sustainability, in economic terms -- Keeping track: green accounting -- Are economic growth and sustainability compatible? -- Conclusions -- Conclusion -- What does economics imply for environmental policy? -- The role of firms, consumers, and governments -- Some final thoughts.