ABSTRACT
The central focus of this chapter is the ideology behind environmental policies. The first topic to explore is the means by which appropriate policy measures are chosen out of a number of alternatives. While economic measures are thought to be superior to direct regulations for achieving environmental policy targets in a cost-efficient manner, many policy decision precedents point to why many countries have traditionally employed direct regulations. Next, this chapter highlights the recently predominant yet heavily debated environmental tax and emissions trading systems. Following this is a depiction of how such policy measures as direct regulations and economic methods can be efficiently combined. The chapter concludes with considerations about important aspects related to future economic theory by honing in on waste problems in Japan as well as on the climate change issue that will affect both developed and developing countries.
