“To explain the world of interactions and outcomes occurring at multiple levels, we also have to be willing to deal with complexity instead of rejecting it.” (E. Ostrom 2009 Nobel Prize Lecture)

This special issue was inspired by the research project POLICYMIX - Assessing the role of economic instruments in policy mixes for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision, funded by the EU’s 7th Framework Program for Research and Technological Development. POLICYMIX set up a framework for policy mix analysis and evaluated the implementation processes and outcomes for a selection of economic instruments in seven case studies in Europe and Latin America.  In particular, the project evaluated payments for ecosystem services (PES), agro-environment measures (AEM), tradable development rights (TDR) and ecological fiscal transfers (EFT).  The POLICYMIX project aimed to shift policy assessment away from a focus on ‘the cost-effectiveness of individual instruments for conservation’, towards understanding of how instruments interact with one another.