Basics in environmental economics and environmental policies

This chapter explains the basic concepts in the economic analysis of environmental problems. First, Sect. 15.1 is an overview of the relationship between the environment and society, followed by Sect. 15.2, which uses graphs to explain the cause of environmental problems from an economics viewpoint. The environment tends to be exploited because it is not adequately priced owing to the lack of trading in the market. In order to prevent this exploitation, it is necessary to build structures or systems to inform people of the value of the environment (i.e., environmental policies). Section 15.3 covers the optimum pollution standard as a desirable aim of environmental policies, while Sect. 15.4 introduces practical environmental policy procedures.