This text contains a collection of papers on economic incentives and environmental policies which result from the authors' joint research work in the program "Environment, Science and Society", conducted under the auspices of the European Science Foundation. The work concentrates on the scientific and methodological aspects of the development, implementation and evaluation of economic instruments at a national level. The research is both theoretical and empirical. At a theoretical level attention is given to the dynamics of intrument choice in various political and economic contexts, and to the means for evaluating economic instruments in terms of their effectiveness and efficiency. Athe performance of economic instruments in reality and to explore options for new approaches on the interface between technology, economy and the environment.