Richards The study of policy instrument choice addresses the question of which policy instruments most cost-effectively produce the desired policy outcome and attempts to explain why certain policy instruments have been adopted in particular cases. This conference focuses on gaining a greater understanding of the policy instrument choice field through a comparison of environmental policy instrument choice in Canada and the United States. The primary goal of the conference is to facilitate discussion and research that explains the variation in instrument choice as it applies to environmental and natural resource issues in the two countries. A wide range of explanatory factors will be explored, including differences in industrial structure, legal structure, nature of environmental problems, division of power, institutional structure, political milieu, public finance system, and public involvement. Session topics have been arranged to first develop a framework for comparison of instrument choice in Canada and the United States. Sessions will then examine various types of policy instruments regarding the environment (e.g., regulatory instruments, taxes and marketable allowances, government purchase, voluntary programs) in more depth. Each session will have presenters from both the United States and Canada and will consider applications to various environmental fields (e.g., air pollution, water pollution, forestry resources, and fisheries.) Because of the many economic, political and legal factors involved in policy choice, the conference is designed to be multi-disciplinary in nature. Participants will come from a wide range of academic areas including economics, political science, anthropology, administrative science and law. In addition, practitioners from both the Canadian and U.S. governments will be involved as presenters, commentators and discussants.
