Efficiency is the hallmark of environmental economics, and though economists are concerned with the environment, primarily because it challenges the efficiency of competitive markets, until now, limited attention has been paid to distributional issues. This excellent collection of essays identifies and addresses key issues surrounding the inequality-environment relationship such as:

* Does increasing economic inequality lead to better or worse environmental quality?

* Which individual or social features play a role in determining the differentiated impact of changes in the environment?

* What impact does economic inequality or social segmentation have on collective action?

* How important is the complex economic and social institution in which the inequality-environment takes place?

With an impressive array of contributors and an excellent mix of popular and noteworthy topics, this latest addition to the Routledge Siena Studies in Political Economy series will prove essential to economists with an interest in the environment and will be useful to readers with a more general environmental studies background.