This book provides the first systematic empirical analysis of privatization processes worldwide to explain how and why governments privatize. Privatization is shown to be a difficult process, shaped by political preferences and budgetary constraints, often pursued in the absence of suitable economics and legal institutions. As a result, in most cases, the process has been partial and incomplete, so that private ownership tends to coexist with public control.

In recent years, analysts, researchers and environmental policy makers have been faced with a serious shortage of empirical data on environmental phenomena. In fact, the information gathered by various organisations has not yet been systematically classified into a consistent system of accounts.
This book presents the results of a joint research effort by the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and Italy's Central Statistical Office (ISTAT) to design a system of accounts for natural and environmental resources. The resulting environmental accounts can be integrated with the existing system of...

The European Union faces several interlinked challenges: how to protect the environment and favour sustainability; how to reduce unemployment and foster competitiveness in a context of growing globalization; how to reduce regional disparities among and within me mb er countries. The recent policy debate has clarified that the above objectives are not a trade off if jointly tackled. In particular, win-win policy options are available to the European Union by an appropriate integration of regulation, macro- policy, social policy, fiscal policy and environmental policy. Evidence shows that...

This volume provides a broad survey of the recent developments in the new economics of the environment and reports the state of the art on a new set of environmental problems, analytical tools and economic policies. Throughout the volume environmental problems are analyzed in an open, generally noncompetitive economy with transnational or global externalities. The first part deals with the relationship between the environment, economic growth and technological innovation. The second part analyzes the optimal design of environmental taxation, while the third part considers the international...

The possible introduction of a carbon tax in Europe is an issue which has attracted the attention of numerous economists and policy-makers. The problems under debate concern the effects of the tax at different levels: what costs, in terms of GDP growth, will be paid by each European country?