Environmental Law and Economics

Book Chapter Bruce R. Huber, Temporal Spillovers, in Environmental Law and Economics 43 (Klaus Mathis and Bruce R. Huber eds., 2017) This anthology discusses important issues surrounding environmental law and economics and provides an in-depth analysis of its use in legislation, regulation and legal adjudication from a neoclassical and behavioural law and economics perspective. Environmental issues raise a vast range of legal questions: to what extent is it justifiable to rely on markets and continued technological innovation, especially as it relates to present exploitation of scarce resources? Or is it necessary for the state to intervene? Regulatory instruments are available to create and maintain a more sustainable society: command and control regulations, restraints, Pigovian taxes, emission certificates, nudging policies, etc. If regulation in a certain legal field is necessary, which policies and methods will most effectively spur sustainable consumption and production in order to protect the environment while mitigating any potential negative impact on economic development? Since the related problems are often caused by scarcity of resources, economic analysis of law can offer remarkable insights for their resolution. Part I underlines the foundations of environmental law and economics. Part II analyses the effectiveness of economic instruments and regulations in environmental law. Part III is dedicated to the problems of climate change. Finally, Part IV focuses on tort and criminal law. The twenty-one chapters in this volume deliver insights into the multifaceted debate surrounding the use of economic instruments in environmental regulation in Europe. The chapter written by Prof Huber, Temporal Spillovers,discusses the fact that for decades, the discipline of law and economics in the U.S. has offered a broader perspective to the analysis of legislation and jurisdiction compared to the European countries. While this is due to [a] number of reasons, this article emphasizes the importance of the different legal cultures, offering analyses of the British, French, German, and European legal framework. Although these differences seem to be rooted in structural differences and thus may persist for some time, there are areas of overlapping interests and similar approaches of applying methods of law and economics. The article focuses on these tendencies and offers a deeper analysis in the area of environmental protectionhttps://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_books/1282/thumbnail.jp