Teaching Policy Instrument Choice in Environmental Law: The Five P's

14 Pages Posted: 4 Sep 2013

See all articles by James E. Salzman

James E. Salzman

University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) - Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - School of Law

Date Written: September 3, 2013

Abstract

While environmental law may appear dauntingly complex, and on occasion truly is, it turns out that understanding instrument choice can be straightforward. Perhaps surprisingly, there are only five basic policy instruments in play, and these can be effectively taught through a simple framework known as “The Five P’s.” Just as a complex sonata can be reduced to a small number of white and black piano keys, so can students’ mastery of the Five P’s allow them to identify the potential range of policy instruments at work in any statute. Despite their application across a dizzying range of situations, the basic environmental policy tools remain the same.

The Five P’s include Prescriptive Regulation, Property Rights, Penalties, Payments, and Persuasion. To be sure, this framework cannot perfectly capture the dizzying range of all environmental policy. The vast majority of instruments, however, do fit easily within the Five P’s framework. As a result, a teacher can easily share the broad range of policy options with students. They, in turn, can then assess which instrument or combination of instruments best fits the particular situation.

The DELPF editors have kindly invited me to set out the Five P’s as a teaching tool for other professors to assign as a class reading or incorporate in their lecture notes. Easy to remember, over the years it has proven a user-friendly and effective approach in the classroom.

Suggested Citation

Salzman, James E., Teaching Policy Instrument Choice in Environmental Law: The Five P's (September 3, 2013). Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum, Vol. 23, No. 3, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2319961

James E. Salzman (Contact Author)

University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) - Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management ( email )

4670 Physical Sciences North
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5131
United States

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - School of Law ( email )

385 Charles E. Young Dr. East
Room 1242
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1476
United States

0 References

    0 Citations

      Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

      Paper statistics

      Downloads
      772
      Abstract Views
      3,493
      Rank
      68,038
      PlumX Metrics
      Plum Print visual indicator of research metrics
      • Usage
        • Abstract Views: 3324
        • Downloads: 720
      • Captures
        • Readers: 2
      • Mentions
        • References: 1
      see details