Markets, the State and the Environment provides an introduction and interdisciplinary, critical overview of the case for a more market-based approach to environmental policy, taking stock of the key theoretical debates and a selection of recent policy developments in Europe, the US and Australia. The anthology compares and evaluates a wide range of market-based policy instruments (including taxes, charges and tradeable permits, privatisation and the encouragement of self-regulation) against the experience of the traditional regulatory approach in relation to the criteria of environmental effectiveness, efficiency, democratic participation, and social equity. The debate about environmental policy tools is also located in the context of the changing relationship between the state and the market in an increasingly interdependent world.