Environmental economics

Growth, Development and Environmental Economics in Asia discussion at Chatham House, London

Environmental economics is a sub-field of economics concerned with environmental issues.[1] It has become a widely studied subject due to growing environmental concerns in the twenty-first century. Environmental economics "undertakes theoretical or empirical studies of the economic effects of national or local environmental policies around the world. ... Particular issues include the costs and benefits of alternative environmental policies to deal with air pollution, water quality, toxic substances, solid waste, and global warming."[2]

Environmental economics is distinguished from ecological economics in that ecological economics emphasizes the economy as a subsystem of the ecosystem with its focus upon preserving natural capital.[3] One survey of German economists found that ecological and environmental economics are different schools of economic thought, with ecological economists emphasizing "strong" sustainability and rejecting the proposition that human-made ("physical") capital can substitute for natural capital.[4]

  1. ^ "Understanding Environmental Economics". Investopedia. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  2. ^ "Environmental Economics". NBER Working Group Descriptions. National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved 2006-07-23.
  3. ^ Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh (2001). "Ecological Economics: Themes, Approaches, and Differences with Environmental Economics," Regional Environmental Change, 2(1), pp. 13-23 Archived 2008-10-31 at the Wayback Machine (press +).
  4. ^ Illge L, Schwarze R. (2009). A Matter of Opinion: How Ecological and Neoclassical Environmental Economists Think about Sustainability and Economics . Ecological Economics.