The role of economic policy in climate change adaptation

Abstract

This article assesses the role of the public sector in adaptation to climate change. We first offer a definition and categorization of climate change adaptation. We then consider the primary economic principles that can guide the assignment of adaptation tasks to either the private or the public sector, as well as those guiding assignment within thepublic sector itself. We find that the role of the state in adaptation policy is limited.We identify information policy, the provision of a suitable regulatory framework in some markets, the formation of human capital and policies fostering economic growth, as wellastechnological and medical knowledge as the main areas in which the public sector has arole in climate change adaptation. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Ifo Institute, Munich. All rights reserved.