The Textbook Reception of Pigouvian Externality Analysis, 1946–1980

The discussion is confined in scope to absolutely irreplaceable assets. Topics include peculiar problems of mineral wealth, free competition, maximum social value and state regulation, monopoly, value of a mine monopoly, retardation of production under monopoly, price effects from cumulated production, and the author's mathematically derived optimum solutions. (PCS)

Martin Weitzman: A Gift That Keeps on Giving

EVER since A. C. Pigou wrote his books on "welfare,"' a divergence between private and social costs has provided the main argument for instituting government action to correct allegedly inefficient market activities. The analysis in such cases has been designed less to aid our understanding of how the economic system operates than to find flaws in it to justify policy recommendations. Both to illustrate the argument and to demonstrate the nature of the actual situation, the quest has been for real-world examples of such defects.

Over the past three decades, the study of environmental and resource economics has evolved from a relatively obscure application of welfare economics to a field of economics in its own right, combining elements from industrial organization, public finance, microeconomic theory, and many other areas of economics. When Edward Elgar Publishing recently invited me to collect some of my papers from the past ten years in an edited volume, it was suggested that I prepare a personal introduction in which I might reflect on the professional path that has led to my research and writing. This paper was prepared as that introduction. In it, I describe the path that took me from Northwestern University to the Peace Corps, then to Cornell, to the Environmental Defense Fund, and finally to Harvard. The book consists of 23 articles I selected from the 80 (published and unpublished) papers I produced ? frequently with co-authors ? from the time I received my Ph.D. in 1988 until the winter of 2000. Selecting the papers and organizing them has allowed me to step back and reflect on the set of research endeavors in which I have been engaged over this decade. This introductory chapter describes the background and major findings of the 23 included papers, and identifies common themes that emerge from this decade of research and writing.

Several recent papers in the literature have reformulltlated the nature of equilibrium in IFiebout mo(lels by alSSlIuim`ing an exogenous number of communities, inflexible commullity l)OU(alaries, anti in pirticular inactive lantlowners and developers. Ihis paper argues that these assumptions are unwarranted and reSul1t iIn in(eterminate solutions and incorrect analyses. Determinate lOn1g-rUn1 solutions require equilibrium in intercommui land markets, which in turn require giving lantlowners and/or entrepreneurial (leveloelers an active role in the models. The role of politics in these models and its juxtaposition with entrepreneurial activities are also analyzed.

Environmental economics, a subfield of economics, is one of the frameworks developed for understanding and addressing environmental issues. However, the extent to which exposure to such coursework influences students’ real-world environmental behaviour remains underexplored. This study, therefore, sought to assess whether taking an environmental economics translates into tangible pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs) among students, using Kwara State University as a case study. Drawing on Knowledge-Attitude-Behaviour Theory and using a survey-based approach, data were collected from students of economics within the university. A stratified random sample of 202 students of economics was selected—93 in parts 3 and 4 (who had taken environmental economics) and 109 in parts 1 and 2 (who had not taken environmental economics). Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Ordinary Least Squares regression model, and multivariate logit model. The findings reveal that taking environmental economics significantly influenced PEBs and that students exposed to environmental economics engaged more in energy conservation, proper waste disposal, reusing and environmental advocacy than other PEBs. The study also found that socioeconomic factors had a moderating effect on the relationship. The study underscores the importance of integrating environmental economics into economics curricula to promote sustainability. It also highlights the need for institutional support, such as improved access to recycling facilities and campus-wide environmental campaigns, to enhance PEBs.

This paper analyzes the effects of changes in relative commodity prices on the distribution of income among factors of production in the context of two models of a simple, two-good economy. In the first model capital is treated as a specific factor in each industry, with labor mobile between industries. The assumption of specificity determines the direction of factor income changes, with magnitudes depending on substitutability between factors and on intensities of factor use within the two industries. In the second model, capital is viewed as a quasi-fixed factor. For the short run, this model is identical to the model first considered. For the long run, this model is identical to the Stolper-Samuelson model in which the direction and magnitude of factor income changes depend solely on relative factor intensities. The difference between the short-run and long-run determinants of changes in factor incomes gives rise to a conflict between factor owners' short-run and long-run interests.

Wallace Oates is one of the most important scholars in both environmental economics and public finance and this new volume of his essays brings together his recent research in both these areas, covering theory, research and policy. The first half of the book includes papers on the political economy of environmental policy, the analysis of environmental regulation and environmental federalism. The second half deals with fiscal and regulatory competition, state and local government finance and fiscal federalism. This new collection will be essential reading for scholars and students in both environmental economics and public finance.

Wallace Oates is one of the most important scholars in both environmental economics and public finance and this new volume of his essays brings together his recent research in both these areas, covering theory, research and policy. The first half of the book includes papers on the political economy of environmental policy, the analysis of environmental regulation and environmental federalism. The second half deals with fiscal and regulatory competition, state and local government finance and fiscal federalism. This new collection will be essential reading for scholars and students in both environmental economics and public finance.

Wallace Oates is one of the most important scholars in both environmental economics and public finance and this new volume of his essays brings together his recent research in both these areas, covering theory, research and policy. The first half of the book includes papers on the political economy of environmental policy, the analysis of environmental regulation and environmental federalism. The second half deals with fiscal and regulatory competition, state and local government finance and fiscal federalism. This new collection will be essential reading for scholars and students in both environmental economics and public finance.

Wallace Oates is one of the most important scholars in both environmental economics and public finance and this new volume of his essays brings together his recent research in both these areas, covering theory, research and policy. The first half of the book includes papers on the political economy of environmental policy, the analysis of environmental regulation and environmental federalism. The second half deals with fiscal and regulatory competition, state and local government finance and fiscal federalism. This new collection will be essential reading for scholars and students in both environmental economics and public finance.

Wallace Oates is one of the most important scholars in both environmental economics and public finance and this new volume of his essays brings together his recent research in both these areas, covering theory, research and policy. The first half of the book includes papers on the political economy of environmental policy, the analysis of environmental regulation and environmental federalism. The second half deals with fiscal and regulatory competition, state and local government finance and fiscal federalism. This new collection will be essential reading for scholars and students in both environmental economics and public finance.

Wallace Oates is one of the most important scholars in both environmental economics and public finance and this new volume of his essays brings together his recent research in both these areas, covering theory, research and policy. The first half of the book includes papers on the political economy of environmental policy, the analysis of environmental regulation and environmental federalism. The second half deals with fiscal and regulatory competition, state and local government finance and fiscal federalism. This new collection will be essential reading for scholars and students in both environmental economics and public finance.

Wallace Oates is one of the most important scholars in both environmental economics and public finance and this new volume of his essays brings together his recent research in both these areas, covering theory, research and policy. The first half of the book includes papers on the political economy of environmental policy, the analysis of environmental regulation and environmental federalism. The second half deals with fiscal and regulatory competition, state and local government finance and fiscal federalism. This new collection will be essential reading for scholars and students in both environmental economics and public finance.

Wallace Oates is one of the most important scholars in both environmental economics and public finance and this new volume of his essays brings together his recent research in both these areas, covering theory, research and policy. The first half of the book includes papers on the political economy of environmental policy, the analysis of environmental regulation and environmental federalism. The second half deals with fiscal and regulatory competition, state and local government finance and fiscal federalism. This new collection will be essential reading for scholars and students in both environmental economics and public finance.