The politics of 'light-handed regulation'

Abstract

In order to understand the potential of new policy instruments in tackling environmental problems we locate their development in the context of challenges to traditional roles of the Australian state in promoting welfare and national economic development through regulatory measures. This contextual information is crucial to understanding the mix of policy instruments adopted by policy-makers. The analysis of environmental policy highlights persistence of regulatory traditions and emergence of new ways of organising state interventions, including voluntary agreements, targeting resources to create competitive eco-efficient industries and research on economic or market-based systems like emissions trading. Show more