This book examines the economics of natural resource markets and pricing, as well as the field of natural resource economics in general. It presents the key contributions to this field of research, including the pioneering works and contemporary studies. The book highlights the basic principles and ideas underlying theoretical models of resource pricing. The models considered in the book underline the fundamental determinants of resource prices and the economic nature of rents for non-renewable and renewable resources. Besides the classical theory of exhaustible resource economics, the book includes several issues that are of high importance for global economic growth, such as the transition to alternative energy and the economics of climate change. The authors also consider the issues of commodity pricing and a resource cartel’s activity that are relevant to the world oil market. The book provides analytical solutions illustrated with numerical examples. It allows an intuitive understanding of the subject and the model inferences through graphical illustrations and an informal introduction. It, therefore, is a must-read for everybody interested in a better understanding of resource prices, resource markets, and resource economics.

This volume focuses on the political economy surrounding the detailed decisions that governments make at each step of the value chain for natural resource management. From the perspective of public interest or good governance, many resource-dependent developing countries pursue apparently short-sighted and sub-optimal policies in relation to the extraction and capture of resource rents, and to spending and savings from their resource endowments. This work contextualizes these micro-level choices and outcomes.

Environmental and Natural Resource Economics is the best-selling text for natural resource economics and environmental economics courses, offering a policy-oriented approach and introducing economic theory and empirical work from the field. Students will leave the course with a global perspective of both environmental and natural resource economics and how they interact. Complemented by a number of case studies showing how underlying economic principles provided the foundation for specific environmental and resource policies, this key text highlights what can be learned from the actual experience. This new, 11th edition includes updated data, a number of new studies and brings a more international focus to the subject. Key features include: Extensive coverage of the major issues including climate change, air and water pollution, sustainable development, and environmental justice. Dedicated chapters on a full range of resources including water, land, forests, fisheries, and recyclables. Introductions to the theory and method of environmental economics including externalities, benefit-cost analysis, valuation methods, and ecosystem goods and services. Boxed ‘Examples’ and ‘Debates’ throughout the text which highlight global examples and major talking points. The text is fully supported with end-of-chapter summaries, discussion questions, and self-test exercises in the book and multiple-choice questions, simulations, references, slides, and an instructor’s manual on the Companion Website.

Applies the theory of the firm to solving problems in resource economics.

An introduction to the concepts and tools of natural resource economics, including dynamic models, market failures, and institutional remedies. This introduction to natural resource economics treats resources as a type of capital; their management is an investment problem requiring forward-looking behavior within a dynamic setting. Market failures are widespread, often associated with incomplete or nonexistent property rights, complicated by policy failures. The book covers standard resource economics topics, including both the Hotelling model for nonrenewable resources and models for renewable resources. The book also includes some topics in environmental economics that overlap with natural resource economics, including climate change. The text emphasizes skills and intuition needed to think about dynamic models and institutional remedies in the presence of both market and policy failures. It presents the nuts and bolts of resource economics as applied to nonrenewable resources, including the two-period model, stock-dependent costs, and resource scarcity. The chapters on renewable resources cover such topics as property rights as an alternative to regulation, the growth function, steady states, and maximum sustainable yield, using fisheries as a concrete setting. Other, less standard, topics covered include microeconomic issues such as arbitrage and the use of discounting; policy problems including the “Green Paradox”; foundations for policy analysis when market failures are important; and taxation. Appendixes offer reviews of the relevant mathematics. The book is suitable for use by upper-level undergraduates or, with the appendixes, masters-level courses.