Ambivalent Joint Production and the Natural Environment

Many environmental damages are caused by substances which come into existence as undesired joint outputs in the production of desired goods. Whether an output is desired or not, however, is not an inherent property of the substance itself but depends on the context of production. This book studies in an interdisciplinary way the role of the potential ambivalence of joint outputs for the description and analysis of dynamic economy-environment interactions and for the design of environmental policy.