Environmental and Resource Policy for Consumer Durables

Book excerpt: A recent line of research in environmental and resource economics deals with the analysis of the so-called product-related environmental policy, i.e. the regulation of certain product characteristics which are mainly determined by producers and which influence the impact of consumption goods on the environment. In this line of literature, only little attention has been paid to the role of product durability. The present study aims at filling this gap. It investigates the relationship between (built-in) product durability, production emissions, solid consumption waste and recycling. The main task is to identify inefficiencies in the durability choice of producers and to assess regulatory policies which aim at correcting for such market failure.