This book is an introduction to environmental economics. It is about the way human decisions affect the quality of the environment; about how human values and institutions shape our demands for improvements in the quality; and, most especially, about how to design effective public policies to bring about these improvements.

This updated second Canadian edition of Environmental Economics retains the organization, content, and writing style of the second edition. Those who have used the second edition will find the same thorough and systematic treatment of environmental economics that offers readers a Canadian text highlighting Canadian issues, data, and policies. Updates of Canadian environmental data and policies can be found in the introductory chapter and throughout section 5.