Policy Instruments for Water Quality Protection

James Shortle and Richard Horan

Annual Review of Resource Economics, 2013, vol. 5, issue 1, 111-138

Abstract: We examine policy instruments for ambient water quality protection. One objective is to illustrate the unique and complex informational challenges that must be addressed in constructing instruments that are effective and efficient for point and nonpoint sources. A second objective is to describe developments in real-world policies. Crucial to solving contemporary water quality challenges and improving the efficiency of water quality protection are reducing nonpoint pollution and efficiently integrating point management and nonpoint management. Accordingly, particular attention is given to instruments for nonpoint sources and to instruments that integrate point and nonpoint management. Our review of the literature in this area indicates that practical approaches will necessarily be second best but that careful instrument design and coordinated control across all sources can enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of water pollution control.

Keywords: point-nonpoint integration; ambient taxes; effluent taxes; cap and tax; input taxes; water quality trading (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q53 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (30)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-resource-091912-151903 (application/pdf)
Full text downloads are only available to subscribers. Visit the abstract page for more information.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:anr:reseco:v:5:y:2013:p:111-138

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.annualreviews.org/action/ecommerce

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Annual Review of Resource Economics from Annual Reviews Annual Reviews 4139 El Camino Way Palo Alto, CA 94306, USA.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by http://www.annualreviews.org ().