Environmental Economics. An understanding of economics is vital to any understanding of why environmental problems occur and what best to do about them. This book provides an introduction to the subject of environmental economics without assuming any in-depth prior knowledge of economics.This book concentrates on environmental economics with emphasis on policy measures at national and global level to achieve sustainable development. This edition of the book is an enlarged version of the earlier editions and provides a clear easy to understand overview of the subject that is gaining importance among present day teachers, students and researchers in economics.Environmental Economics is the first text to concentrate solely on environmental economics―the problems of earth, air, and water pollution from an economic perspective―with an emphasis on both government regulation and private-sector anti-pollution incentives. With the assumption that readers already have an understanding of intermediate microeconomics, the book reaches into more detail on theory and analysis than most other textbooks in this area. Now fully revised in its second edition, Environmental Economics is divided into four primary sections: the first section defines the field of environmental economics in relation to general economics and to ecological and resource economics; the second section is normative, looking at market failure and asks why, even with apparent environmental protection, the market often fails to work properly; the third section is positive, examining government regulation of pollution using the industrial organization literature; and the final section covers more advanced topics, looking at risk, uncertainty, green accounting, international competition and cooperation and development.