PUBLIC ECONOMICS AND PROBLEM STRUCTURING IN INTERNATIONAL POLICY ANALYSIS

With a focus on international policy to protect the ozone layer, the article examines the applicability of public economics theory in analyzing international environmental policy. It is argued that effective application of public economics theory depends on recognizing how nations structure the policy problem, which in turn affects how national interests are conceived and advanced through international policy processes. A given international environmental problem may be structured or framed in several ways; for example, as a common property issue or as a public good provision problem. Given the differing behavioral dynamics that can be expected under these alternative issue conceptions, understanding the way in which stakeholders themselves viewed the problem is a prerequisite for selecting the appropriate theoretical framework. In an analysis of international cooperation to protect the ozone layer, we focus on the dynamics of problem structuring, attendant conceptions of national interest, and the appropriate application of public economics theory.