In reviewing Environmental Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, one notices a domination of interventionist approaches in the most important areas. This contribution sheds light upon those economic conceptions opposing the command-and- control approach to environmental policy. Currently, the socalled Ecological Economics is discussed as an alternative to the Neoclassic Welfare Economics and the Institutional Economics. However, it is subject to extensive critique and - according to the author should be rejected as a reference point for governmental environmental policy. In the case of the Social Market Economy (Soziale Marktwirtschaft), an environmental policy that sets an institutional framework of general rules (Umweltordnungspolitik), should be preferred. This concept aims at the efficient use of scarce environmental resources. First of all, this requires an integration of environmental usage into the economic system. Thus, depending on the transaction costs, suitable solutions, i.e.effluent fees, licences etc., must be found. Moreover, numerous public environmental goods can be characterized as public goods with a spatially limited (local, national, international, etc. ) dimension. In this case, an institutional competition between regional units providing regional public goods on the basis of fiscal equivalence can bring about two positive results. Firstly, it ensures conservation of environmental goods in accordance with the preferences of the citizens, and secondly, it promotes innovation. This competitive approach outlined is dependant on individual preferences. In the context of environmental externatilities and public environmental goods, this concept may in some cases prove to be inadequate to secure the long-term ecological equilibrium and a sustainable development. Therefore, some particular restrictions of full discretion might be necessary. By analysing these restrictions it appears that the conservation of essential and non-substitutional resources (Safe-Minimum-Standard) can be individualistically justified.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultïät in its series Working Paper Series B with number
1997-03.
Order Information: Postal: If a paper is not downloadable, please contact the author(s) or the library of University of Jena, not the archive maintainer.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().
Related research
Keywords:
Other versions of this item:
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Did you know? You can create a compilation of all publications of a group of people, say alumni of a program, your students or memers of an association.