Book Description

This book includes chapters by experts from developing and developed countries that apply game theory to issues in natural resources and the environment.The focus in the book is clearly on applications that have policy relevance and that could lead to establishment of policy dialogue.The book objective is to demonstrate the usefulness of game theory in policy making at various levels, and for various aspects related to natural resources and the environment.

In that respect, the proposed book differs from existing books that focus on game theory applications.It is more policy oriented and aims to focus on a wide range of readers, who are not necessarily pure game theorists, but appreciate the potential game theory may bring to useful policy debates.

Contributors include George B. Frisvold, Gordon Rausser and Franklin M. Fisher.

Book Description
It is now well recognized that economic appraisal of environmentalimpacts is a key element of the decision to invest in new projects andpolicies. Several methods exist for carrying out these appraisals, butknowledge of these methods is normally confined to a small number oftechnicicans in charge of the basic studies.Policy analysts and decisionmakers also need to be aware of these procedures.The purpose of thispractical guide is to explain to policy analysts and decision makers the basicprinciples, field of application, strengths and weaknesses of existingeconomic evaluation techniques.A non-technical approach is taken, usingconcrete examples from both industrialized and developing countries. ... Read more

Book Description
The complex real-world interactions between the economy and the environment form both the focus of and main barrier to applied research within the field of environmental economics. However, geographical information systems (GIS) allow economists to tackle such complexity head on by directly incorporating diverse datasets into applied research rather than resorting to simplifying and often unrealistic assumptions. This innovative book applies GIS techniques to spatial cost-benefit analysis of a complex and topical land use change problem--the conversion of agricultural land to multipurpose woodland--looking in detail at issues such as opportunity costs, timber yield, recreation, carbon storage, etc.,Download Description
The complex real world interactions between the economy and environment form both the focus of and main barrier to applied research within the field of environmental economics. However, geographical information systems (GIS) allow economists to tackle such complexity head on by directly incorporating diverse data sets into applied research rather than resorting to simplifying and often unrealistic assumptions. This innovative book applies GIS techniques to spatial cost-benefit analysis of a complex and topical land use change problem, the conversion of agricultural land to multipurpose woodland, looking in detail at issues such as opportunity costs, recreation, carbon storage, etc., and embracing cross cutting themes such as the evaluation of environmental preferences and the spatial transfer of benefit functions. ... Read more

Book Description
"Environmental Economics" provides a comprehensive introduction to the dynamic relationship between economics and environmental policy. The authors offer a broad overview of important issues, including the changing role of economics during a time of increasing environmental concern, the impact of markets and governmental policy, environmental protection through economic mechanisms, and a practical look at how environmental economics are played out in commercial and scientific arenas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not a typical cryptic economics textbook
I bought this book when I was doing my Master's in Economics. Back then it helped me learn a great deal about environmental economics on my own (without a teacher).It is written in accessible language (not your typical cryptic economics text book), full of examples and honest in the way it presents the information -form this point of view the problem is this way, from that point of view the problem is this other way.
I now also hold a Master's in Environmental Studies and a PhD in Geography specializing in Energy and Transportation issues.For the past few years I have returned to it again and again for reference.While the edition is old (1993), it is still a great basic introduction and has good references for where to go next if you are looking for more depth or a more advanced treatment of the subject.

Propably the best introducory textbook on the market
Of the four textbooks on the subject I've been through, this one scores the best credit. Within ecological economics there are two schools of thought. One is basically environmentalist in the sense that views the causes of environmental degradation, as being the economic system AS SUCH. Herman Daly is propably the most wellknown representant of this school. The other school deals with environmental problems as being a 'problem of getting the prices right'. This book is mostly concerned with the latter approach.Several aspects of this book ranks it above average. These are: 1) Although the book primarily deals with the market-approach, it actually covers all aspects of environmentalism, ranging from standard economics to deep ecology, treating each of the in a sober manner, 2) the book is very goos at pinpointing the problematic aspects of different theories, 3) The conclusions are supported by empirical evidence, presented in a readable and realevant manner 4) it really covers the breadth of the field, leaving you with a great overview of the topics you can specialize in, 5) it avoids some of the most common misunderstandings of the field, e.g. by specificly stating the difference between non-property resources and common property resources. All In all: It is a very recommendable book for those who are about to be introduced to the field of ecological economics. ... Read more

Book Description

Though many students and environmentalists shudder at even the thought of economics, a working knowledge of the basics can be a powerful ally. Economic arguments carry a great deal of weight, and putting them to work for environmental causes can be a deciding factor, especially in policy debates. The reverse is true as well, and an understanding of the possibly flawed, misleading, or overstated economics behind an opponent's case can be crucially important.

Environmental Economics for Tree Huggers and Other Skeptics carefully explains the tools of economic analysis and shows how they can be used to help reveal the root causes of and potential solutions for environmental and natural resource problems. Jaeger's proven techniques and wonderfully conversational tone assume no economics training, and his presentation of the material is designed to facilitate clarity. His step-by-step approach unearths surprisingly simple, easy-to-remember principles and shows how to apply them to real-world environmental problems.

Those with exposure to introductory microeconomics will find Environmental Economics for Tree Huggers and Other Skeptics to be a welcome refresher. Undergraduate and graduate students of environmental studies, resource management, law, policy, and related fields, as well as novices who are skeptical of how the field could possibly help them in their own efforts, will be pleasantly surprised.

Book Description
In recent years, corporations of all sizes and orientations have become more sensitive to social issues and stakeholder concerns, and they are collectively striving to become better corporate citizens (in some cases, urged on by shareholder pressure or government regulations). The best practices in corporate sustainability are no longer the exclusive domain of companies like Ben & Jerry's or Body Shop as they were a decade ago; now, large, multi-national companies like G.E. and Wal-Mart are leading the way with significant financial and organizational commitments to social and environmental issues. To help managers and academics keep their eye on the ever-moving target of sustainability, award-winning author and academic Marc Epstein's provides an authoritative and comprehensive guide to implementing corporate sustainability initiatives and to measuring both their social and financial impacts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Important to read for both the Manager and the Management Academic
Whereas others have argued for why corporations must attend to social issues, Epstein helps us understand how.Epstein provides in-depth, thoughtful analysis that integrates the relevant research in the field about how to more effectively manage corporate social responsibility. He grounds this analysis in extensive examples of companies actively grappling with these issues. In doing so, he provides a manual for both academics and practitioners to understand what we know today about how to manage corporate social responsibility , and provides a set of questions for the issues that we must grapple with tomorrow. This book is a must read for anyone who cares about the success of companies and who cares about the future of our communities and our planet.

A master plan for managing sustainably
If you want a single book on how to make your company sustainable, this is the book for you. Epstein distills the latest and greatest thinking into a sensible and comprehensive program for delivering environmental, social, and financial excellence. You don't need to look further for a guide to retool the machinery of your organization to create value for all stakeholders. Epstein is a renowned expert in the field of managing for sustainable performance. It's amazing how many insights and examples he fits into this easy-to-ready book. A great contribution to the field.

Very readable, lots of company examples
This book provides a detailed model that provides guidance on how managers can implement sustainability at their companies.However, it is excellent not only for managers, but also for consumers who want to know what companies are doing or what they should be doing to improve their social and environmental responsibility.It is easy to read and contains many detailed real world examples to help readers understand what corporate sustainability is and how it should work at global companies.

A Guide to the Implementation of Sustainability Principles
Making Sustainability work does a significant contribution for practitioners on how to put sustainability principles and ideas into practice. We have seen in the past other important contributions about sustainability. The difference regarding this new book is in putting these ideas in a very explicit way; emphasizing on the challenges of integrating sustainability into the business strategy and in the decision-making that encompasses the implementation of successful strategies at the firm level.

The book goes further giving valuable guidelines in practical methodologies on how to measure social and environmental risks and impacts and in the implementation of systems inside the firms for permanently monitoring such impacts. This has been a weakness in some of the literature we have seen in the past. Making Sustainability Work addresses the necessary evaluation of the impacts of sustainability initiatives on the financial performance to correctly assess the convenience of implementing them in terms of the benefits to both, the firm and the stakeholders. Finally, we have in a very amenable reading style, an important guide for practitioners on how to put sustainability principles into practice.

Practical & important guidance for today's managers
This book provides highly readable, thorough, and practical guidance for implementing sustainability goals in large and small companies.It elegantly lays out the correlation between sustainability and profitability and outlines management strategies, control systems, and measurement tools to fully integrate sustainability into strategic planning and business practices. The examples are useful and span a range of industries and countries. While many other books on this subject focus on the need for companies to adopt sustainability this book goes beyond theory, finallyproviding the methods to do so. ... Read more

Book Description

The present book describes the methodology to set up agent-based models and to study emerging patterns in complex adaptive systems resulting from multi-agent interaction. It offers the application of agent-based models in demography, social and economic sciences and environmental sciences. Examples include population dynamics, evolution of social norms, communication structures, patterns in eco-systems and socio-biology, natural resource management, spread of diseases and development processes. It presents and combines different approaches how to implement agent-based computational models and tools in an integrative manner that can be extended to other cases.

Book Description
The aim of this book is to provide an introduction to environmental and natural resource issues and to describe economic theories and methods used by experts working in the field. Case Studies Comprehensive treatment of a wide range of environmental and natural resource issues.A real life introduction to each chapter engages the reader in the application of the topic at hand.Unique chapter on environmental justice. Consultants or other professionals who works with economic analysis of environmental policy. ... Read more

Book Description
"The Environmental Endgame is substantive, innovative, and profound. Nadeau exposes the weaknesses of neoclassical economic theory, and shows why it cannot address environmental concerns. He offers instead a stimulating and radically new approach to sustainability."—Joseph Tainter, author ofThe Collapse of Complex Societies "The Environmental Endgame by Robert Nadeau is an astonishingly original and challenging book that examines the current global environmental crisis from multiple angles and differing perspectives. Above all, it provides the reader a sobering overview about critical steps that must be taken to undo momentous mistakes that policy makers have made in the past century by clinging to anachronistic and outmoded economic theories that belong to the early days of Western industrial societies."--A. Karim Ahmed, Director, International Program, National Council for Science and the Environment For decades, scholars have warned of an impending global environmental crisis. Yet politicians, particularly in the United States, have consistently shown through their actions towards crucial "green" policies that they are not taking the threat seriously. Initiatives aimed at protecting the planet are commonly seen as belonging to a category unto themselves—the preserve of scientists and environmental enthusiasts.

In this groundbreaking book, Robert L. Nadeau warns that we have moved menacingly close to a global environmental catastrophe and that the first step in evading large-scale ecological disaster is to stop drawing a distinction between issues that are "environmental" or "scientific" and those that reside in the sphere of "real life." Although scientists have attempted to bring ecological concerns to the forefront of the conversation on global issues, Nadeau argues that problems are rarely communicated in ways that can be readily understood by those outside the scientific community.

By bringing together perspectives from a variety of disciplines, including economics, politics, biology, and the history of science, The Environmental Endgame makes a bold and original effort to articulate the concerns of scientists in such a way that they become the real-life, tangible concerns of billions of people around the world. Starting from the premise that people require stories to explain their world, how they fit in it, and their relationship and responsibility to different groups, Nadeau asserts that we have entered a new phase of human history and the story that accompanies it cannot be one of separation and division. Instead, it must be on one of coherence and mutual goals.

Nadeau demonstrates that our current governmental and financial institutions, based on neoclassical economics, lack the mechanisms for positing and implementing viable solutions to large-scale crises. In other words, we should not be thinking in terms of competing nation-states, but should reconfigure international government as a supranational federal system. The book concludes with a call to view the natural world as a part of, not separate from, humanity. This unifying worldview would be a catalyst for implementing the new sorts of international government organizations necessary to resolving the current crisis.

The Environmental Endgame is an ambitious and timely book that will change the way we think about our economy, our government, and the environment. It should be read by everyone who cares about the pervasive neglect and abuse of planet Earth and what can be done about it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An important tool
THE ENVIRONMENTAL ENDGAME: MAINSTREAM ECONOMICS, ECOLOGICAL DISASTER, AND HUMAN SURVIVAL reiterates we've moved even closer to global environmental disaster - and maintains that distinctions must be abolished which consider environmental issues as outside the sphere of 'real' or everyday concerns. Scientists have long attempted to bring these issues to consumer attention: here perspectives from a range of disciplines connect environmental issues with the real worlds of people around the world. From government institutions to economic concerns, THE ENVIRONMENTAL ENDGAME is an important tool for linking environmental science with the rest of the world.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch ... Read more

Product Description
Everyone agrees that firms should obey the law. But beyond the law -- beyond compliance with regulations -- do firms have additional social responsibilities to commit resources voluntarily to environmental protection? How should we think about firms sacrificing profits in the social interest? May they do so within the scope of their fiduciary responsibilities to their shareholders? Is the practice sustainable, or will the competitive marketplace render such efforts and their impacts transient at best? Furthermore, is the practice, however well intended, an efficient use of social and economic resources? And do some firms already behave this way?
Until now, public discussion has generated more heat than light on both the normative and positive questions surrounding corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the environmental realm. In Environmental Protection and the Social Responsibility of Firms, some of the nation's leading scholars in law, economics, and business examine commonly accepted assumptions at the heart of current debates on CSR and provide a foundation for future research and policymaking.
Distinguished contributors to this book include Einer Elhauge and Mark Roe of Harvard Law School; John Donohue and Daniel Esty of Yale Law School; Paul Portney of Resources for the Future; Dennis Aigner of the University of California, Santa Barbara; Forest Reinhardt of Harvard Business School; David Vogel of the University of California, Berkeley; and Eric Orts of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
... Read more

Book Description
Environmental Economics: A Critique of Benefit-Cost Analysis describes, in a non-technical, readily understandable way, why the practice of benefit-cost analysis in environmental settings is heavily biased against the environment. The book provides environmentalists with the tools necessary to show policy-makers that pursuing many policies with apparent costs greater than benefits are, in fact, welfare-enhancing. ... Read more

Book Description
Much applied environmental economics is concerned with the valuation of changes in environmental quality.Obtaining reliable valuation estimates requires attention to theoretical and econometric issues that are often quite subtle.Volume 2 of the Handbook of Environmental Economics presents both the theory and the practice of environmental valuation.It synthesizes the vast literature that has accumulated since the publication of the Handbook of Natural Resource and Energy Economics two decades ago.It includes chapters on individual valuation methods written by researchers responsible for fundamental advances in those methods.It also includes cross-cutting chapters that deal with aspects of welfare theory, uncertainty, experimental methods, and public health that are pertinent to valuation.Throughout the volume, attention is paid to research and policy issues that arise not only in high-income countries, where most of the theory and econometrics that underlie applied valuation methods have been developed, but also in poorer parts of the world.The volume provides a state-of-the-art reference for scholars and practitioners alike. ... Read more

Book Description

The emergent discipline of ecological economics is based on the idea that the world's economies are a function of the earth's ecosystems -an idea that radically reverses the world view of neoclassical economics. A Survey of Ecological Economics provides the first overview of this new field, and a comprehensive and systematic survey of its critical literature.

The editors of the volume summarize ninety-five seminal articles, selected through an exhaustive survey, that advance the field of ecological economics and represent the best thinking to date in the area. Each two-to three-page summary is far more comprehensive than a typical abstract, and presents both the topics covered in each paper and the most important arguments made about each topic. Sections cover:

• historical perspective
• definition, scope, and interdisciplinary issues
• theoretical frameworks and techniques
• energy and resource flow analysis
• accounting and evaluation
• North-South/international issues
• ethical/social/institutional issues

Customer Reviews (5)

Only Summaries
This is a wonderful collection of essays and the introductory sections are very informative, however the complete essays are not included, only 2-3 summaries written by the editors.This may not be clear from the information given by Amazon.com.

The essays are the some of the best in the field and the summaries well written.But, the overall usefulness of this book is limited.It may be a good starting point for research; readers will quickly find themselves wanting the full text of some of the essays summarized.It may also be a useful study guide for students who have read many of the complete articles and would like a quick summary that is more complete then a usual journal abstract.

Beyond that, this is not a helpful book.I would recommend Ecological Economics: The Science and Management of Sustainability by Robert Costanza, which contains many of the same articles and other works by many of the same authors.

This book is priced much lower than other collections of essays in Ecological Economics, but considering it does not contain full articles it should probably be even cheaper.

One to have !
As a student in environmental economics at masters-level, i must say that this essay collection has come as rain from a blue sky. Essay collections in general is a great thing, and indeed there is a few of reccommendationbehind from this one. But two things stands out from this one. Firstly inembraces a vast number of articles which rightly belongs to the"classics" category. And unfortunately such articles aresometimes hard to come by, and a number of the article included in thiscollection has not, to my knowledge, been published before. Therefore thebook is excellent as a reference collection. Furthermore the structure ofthe book, is made up in such a way, that the articles are printed under athematic heading. And the editors has managed to provide some excellentintroductions to each new subject, which mean that the reader, even thoughhe's not capable of grasping the essence of all the collected essays, atleast get a fair idea of the problems involved.

In all, this means thiscollection, apart from being an important reference book, is providing avery comprehensive way of making essay collections in general. So all fivestars are indeed well deserved.

Analytical summaries of the best of the literature
The Frontier Issues in Economic Thought summaries, along with the overview essays, provide a markedly different service from the standard collection of abstracts.The series will benefit not only scholarly work but theapplication of our best thinking to the problems of the times.

KennethPrewit, President, Social Sciences Research Council

A new paradigm of economic thought for the 21st century
I worked for many years in Central America as a correspondent for theFinancial Times and as an economist have felt frustrated at what Iincreasingly perceived as a yawning gap in economic, political, andphilosophical thought, that was preventing our increasingly globalizedworldfrom facing the huge challenges of unemployment, poverty, andenvironmental catastrophe that seem to lay ahead.A SURVEY OF ECOLOGICALECONOMICS has helped fill that gap for me, and has given me optimism thatwe are not too late to do something about these issues.The book isexactly what I have been looking for and has helped define for me at leastwhat I believe could be the basis of a new paradigm of economic thought forthe 21st century.

A comprehensive and systematic survey
Although I did not understand this during my college years -- nor, Isuspect, did the economists who wrote the texts I used -- economics has akey role to play in the urgent quest for a path toward sustainability.ASURVEY OF ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS is an extremely important record of howeconomics is beginning to collaborate with other disciplines to contributeto that quest, as well as to other essential inquiries into the manner inwhich people interact with each other and with the world around them.

Theeditors have searched the literature in many different fields to findkeynote articles which extend economic thinking into new areas. Unifyingthe whole contents of the book -- the overview essays of the editors, andtheir summaries of about 85 selected papers -- is the underlying theme thatnew methods must be found which will improve the quality of human lives. This purposeful use of the economic perspective to be of service in thequest for broad environmental and social improvement and for alternativesto the status quo is tremendously valuable. This book serves a unique purpose for me, and Isuspect for many other readers.I am certain that I would never personallyperform the literature searches which the editors have undertaken.Thesummaries and overview essays are an efficient way to introduce me tomaterial that is far from my own discipline of training. Without thisseries I would not have access to the important papers, both current andhistorical, which are presented and interpreted inA SURVEY OF ECOLOGICALECONOMICS and its companion volumes in the "Frontier Issues inEconomic Thought" series.

Steven Katona President, College of theAtlantic Bar Harbor, Maine ... Read more

Book Description
Paul Ekins breaks new ground in defining the conditions of compatibility between economic growth and environmental sustainability, an provides measures and criteria by which the environmental sustainability of economic growth, as it occurs in the real world, may be judged. It is argued that "green growth" is not only theoretically possible but economically achievable and the author shows what environmental and economic policies are required to achieve this.Download Description
Ekins breaks new ground in defining the conditions of compatibility between economic growth and environmental sustainabilty, and provides measures and criteria by which the environmental sustainabilty of economic growth can be judged. ... Read more

Book Description
Robert Jackson’s tenth and most ambitious book explores the factors and dispels the false ideas around how the fringes of Spain’s empire in the Americas developed. He details how environmental differences and socio-cultural variations had a controlling influence on development of the missions in each region and how these factors explain the striking differences in the mission structure.

Jackson’s extensive on-site research covers New Mexico (1598–1580 and 1696–1833), the Rio de la Plata region (1609–1848), the Primeria Alta Region (1687–1833), Texas (1690–1695 and 1716–1815), Baja California (1697–1833), and Alta California (1769–1833).

Missions and the Frontiers of Spanish America is a readable and generously illustrated book that puts the role of the missions, missionaries, and indigenous peoples into a broader historical context.

An ambitious and generously illustrated study of the social and cultural influences on Spain's North American colonies. ... Read more

Book Description
Based on 30 specially commissioned pieces by leading authorities in the field from the US and Europe, The Handbook of Environmental Economics represents the most comprehensive volume of environmental and natural resource economics published to date.
It covers the full range of issues presently at the forefront of environmental policy including key aspects of such critical areas as pollution, sustainability and global environmental policy.
Essential reading for students, researchers and faculty as well as to policy makers and those with a wider interest in the issues. ... Read more

Book Description
Over its previous four editions, Economics of the Environment has established itself as the standard student reader for environmental economics courses. A rich complement to other texts, this accessible reader provides a balanced selection of classic and contemporary readings to firmly ground students' understanding in the field's primary literature. The Fifth Edition has been carefully reorganized; over a third of the selections are new. ... Read more