The Economics of Environmental Degradation provides an institutional economics approach to analyse the underlying causes of continuing environmental degradation: poverty, population, poor policies and trade.After a critical, up-to-date survey of the most recent literature, the authors consider whether there is some common or deeper explanation of environmental degradation. They conclude that a problem results whenever human exploitation of the environment outruns the capacity of human institutions to adapt and to evolve methods for managing exploitation. Environmental degradation will persist because it is the static result of the ongoing dynamic contest between opportunistic individuals and institutional adaptation.

The book assumes no prior knowledge of economics or the environment and will appeal to a wide readership of policymakers and students with a background in economics, geography, conservation biology, environmental studies and development studies.