This Brief explores the theory, implementation, and policy implications of marketable permits as environmental policy instruments. Chapters cover a wide range of applications—from pollution control and fisheries management to land use and climate change mitigation. The text refers to “classic” implementations of marketable permits, including both early American experiments and the mature European carbon market, demonstrating that some systems are more successful than others. It also refers to less known initiatives—such as Polish attempts to introduce the instrument—to give readers a more comprehensive view of environmental policy problems. Addressing both the theoretical foundations and policy relevance of marketable permits, this Brief will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of environmental and resource economics and environmental policy.

This Brief explores the theory, implementation, and policy implications of marketable permits as environmental policy instruments. Chapters cover a wide range of applications—from pollution control and fisheries management to land use and climate change mitigation. The text refers to “classic” implementations of marketable permits, including both early American experiments and the mature European carbon market, demonstrating that some systems are more successful than others. It also refers to less known initiatives—such as Polish attempts to introduce the instrument—to give readers a more comprehensive view of environmental policy problems. Addressing both the theoretical foundations and policy relevance of marketable permits, this Brief will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of environmental and resource economics and environmental policy.

This Brief explores the theory, implementation, and policy implications of marketable permits as environmental policy instruments. Chapters cover a wide range of applications—from pollution control and fisheries management to land use and climate change mitigation. The text refers to “classic” implementations of marketable permits, including both early American experiments and the mature European carbon market, demonstrating that some systems are more successful than others. It also refers to less known initiatives—such as Polish attempts to introduce the instrument—to give readers a more comprehensive view of environmental policy problems. Addressing both the theoretical foundations and policy relevance of marketable permits, this Brief will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of environmental and resource economics and environmental policy.