ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY VS. DISTRIBUTIVE EQUITY: THE "SAGEBRUSH REBELLION"

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to interpret, from the viewpoint of an economist, some of the causes of the Rebellion,' a contemporary land reform movement directed toward the Bureau of Land Management and its control of the public domain. Distributive equity concerns on the part of 'Sagebrush Rebellion' supporters are identified, as are the contributions of neoclassical welfare theory to the debate. Reflections of those social and theoretical concerns in Federal legislation and agency policy and regulations are explored. The purpose of this paper is to provide an economic interpretation of some of the causes of the Sagebrush Rebellion, a contemporary land reform movement directed toward the Federal government and its control of the public domain. The rebellion is focused, primarily, on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and its administration of public rangeland resources. However, the land reform movement has much broader implications for levels of government, agencies of government, and groups interested in