Chapter 7 terms apes

Policy

a formal set of general plans and principles to address problems and guide decision making

Public policy

policy made by governments

Environmental policy

policy that pertains to human interactions with the environment

Tragedy of the commons

concept that commonly held resources will become overused and degraded

Free rider

one entity that does not participate in a voluntary effort to improve the environment

External costs

harmful impacts of market transactions are borne by

people not involved in the transaction

Polluter-pays principle

principle specifying that polluters cover costs of impacts

Vested interest

special interest shown by people for a policy

Lobbying

spending time or money to influence an elected official’s decision

Revolving door

movement of people between the private sector and government

legislation

statutory law

Regulations

specific rules or requirements to achieve objectives of broadly written statutory laws

Regulatory taking

occurs when the government deprives a property owner of some or all of the economic use of their property

Customary law

practices or customs held by most cultures

Conventional law

comes from conventions or

treaties

treaties

written contracts among nations

World Bank

one of the world’s largest funding sources

for economic development

European Union

seeks to promote Europe’s unity, economic and social progress

World Trade Organization

represents

multinational corporations by promoting free trade

Nongovernmental organizations

entities that influence international policy

Command-and-control

an approach in which a regulating agency sets rules or limits or prohibits actions

Interest groups

small numbers of people seeking private gain who may unduly influence politicians and work against public interests

Green taxes

taxes on environmentally harmful activities Businesses reimburse the public for damage they cause

Subsidy

a government giveaway of cash or resources to encourage

a particular activity

Permit trading

approach using a government-created market in permits for an

environmentally harmful activity

Cap-and-trade

an emissions trading system in

which the government sets pollution levels and issues permits