10.2190/K0EM-0QXK-M55A-UHVL K0EM0QXKM55AUHVL 7 Pollution Control: Policies Proposed by Economists 363 380 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 K0EM0QXKM55AUHVL.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=K0EM0QXKM55AUHVL 4 Clem Tisdell Department of Economics, The University of Newcastle, Australia This paper reviews in a general fashion measures suggested by economists for the control of pollution and considers ways in which these measures can be combined with the use of pollution standards. The efficiency of measures such as taxes to control pollution, bribes for reductions in pollution and the availability and sale of pollution rights are discussed. Market-type measures such as pollution rights and uniform rates of taxation are not as efficient as some economists claim and often need to be modified for practical application. In this respect the contribution of Tietenberg seems to be of particular importance. Ways in which non-convexities in production possibilities and consumption relationships limit or rule out orthodox economic approaches to pollution control are discussed and illustrated. Uncertainty and variability of ambient conditions are also seen as limiting the applicability of traditional economic policies for pollution controls. The point is illustrated that even when emissions cannot be varied (for economic or other reasons) with ambient conditions, variability of or uncertainty of ambient conditions influences the socially optimal level of emission as a rule. A. C. Pigou, <i>The Economics of Welfare</i>, Macmillan, London, 1932. F. Engles, <i>The Conditions of the Working-Class in England</i>, German edition, Otto Wigand, Leipzig, Germany, 1845. R. Coase, The Problem of Social Waste, <i>The Journal of Law and Economics, 3</i>, pp. 1-44, 1960. J. H. Dales, <i>Pollution, Property and Prices</i>, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1968. W. Baumol, On Taxation and the Control of Externalities, <i>American Economic Review, 62</i>, pp. 307-322, 1972. P. A. Victor, <i>Economics of Pollution</i>, Macmillan, London, 1972. D. W. Pearce, <i>Environmental Economics</i>, Longman, London, 1976. M. Olson, <i>The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups</i>, Harvard University Press, Cambridge. W. Baumol and W. Oates, The Use of Standards and Prices for the Protection of the Environment, <i>Swedish Journal of Economics, 73</i>, pp. 42-54, 1971. T. H. Tietenberg, On Taxation and the Control of Externalities: A Comment, <i>American Economic Review, 64</i>, pp. 462-66. C. A. Tisdell, <i>Microeconomics: The Theory of Economic Allocation</i>, Wiley, Sydney, 1972. C. A. Tisdell, Certainty Equivalence and Bias in the Management of Production, <i>Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics, 41</i>, pp. 166-178, 1973. C. A. Tisdell, On the Theory of Externalities, <i>The Economic Record, 46</i>, pp. 14-25, 1970. W. Baumol and D. F. Bradford, Detrimental Externalities and Non-Convexity of the Production Set, <i>Economica, 39</i>, pp. 160-176, 1972. C. A. Tisdell and C. Walsh, Non-Marginal Externalities: A Relevant and As Not, <i>The Economic Record, 49</i>, pp. 447-455, 1973.