The issue of tradable permits, or cap-and-trade schemes is a important one at the moment, and it is a relevant solution to negative externalities of production in the microeconomics section of the course. The basic idea is to set a limit (cap) on the amount of pollution and then divide this up into permits that …
The French government for a while was considering the introduction of a ‘carbon tax’ as a method to reduce pollution (a negative externality). It would now appear that this will not go ahead, with one reason being given that it would need to be an EU tax, otherwise French industry would experience higher costs while …
This article explains about the UN concerns over the increasing e-waste in developing countries. It is an important issue within the economics syllabus. It has links to microeconomics as an issue of an externality, but also to development as externalities are a potentially negative impact of growth and development. BBC article – Mountains of e-waste
A number of businesses in Europe have been ‘ripped off’ recently by fraudsters who stole a large number of carbon permits. These are a very good example of ‘tradable permits’ that can be used as a market based solution to the negative externality of air pollution. The second site has a good explanation of how …