Classic Papers In Natural Resource Economics

Classic Papers in Natural Resource Economics Edited by Chennat Gopalakrishnan Classic Papers in Natural Resource Economics Also by Chennat Gopalakrishnan NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY: Theory and Policy THE EMERGING MARINE ECONOMY OF THE PACIFIC THE ECONOMICS OF ENERGY IN AGRICULTURE Classic Papers in Natural Resource Economics Edited by Chennat Gopalakrishnan Professor University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu Hawaii First published in Great Britain 2000 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0–333–77763–8 First published in the United States of America 2000 by ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 0–312–23014–1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Classic papers in natural resource economics / edited by Chennat Gopalakrishnan. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–312–23014–1 (cloth) 1. Natural resources. 2. Environmental policy. 3. Externalities (Economics) I. Gopalakrishnan, Chennat HC59 .C574 2000 333.7—dc21 99–048233 Editorial matter and selection © Chennat Gopalakrishnan 2000 Chapter 1 © The Economic Journal 1960 Chapters 2, 3, 8, 12 and 13 © American Economic Association 1970, 1974, 1968, 1967, 1968 Chapter 4 © MIT Press, 1974 Chapter 5 © Journal of Law and Economics 1960 Chapters 6, 7 and 10 © Basil Blackwell Ltd 1962 Chapters 9 and 11 © University of Chicago Press 1954, 1931 Chapter 14 © Oxford University Press 1971 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 10 09 9 08 8 07 7 06 6 05 5 04 4 03 3 02 2 01 1 00 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire Contents Preface vii Acknowledgments ix List of Contributors xi Classic Papers in Natural Resource Economics: An Overview Chennat Gopalakrishnan I The Intertemporal Problem 11 1 The Social Time Preference Discount Rate in Cost Benefit Analysis Martin S. Feldstein 2 On the Social Rate of Discount William F. Baumol II 1 13 37 3 Uncertainty and the Evaluation of Public Investment Decisions Kenne