The Sustainability Blog

What environmentalists should know about economics

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:48:27 +1000

Since part of the "mission" of this blog is to be a conduit for informing non-economists about how economists think about the environment the way they do, I should post the occasional "primer" on the subject, as they come to hand. Conveniently, I happen to have a couple I can post here.

Presentation to Ecological Society of Australia

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:29:29 +1000

In December, I hosted a session at the Ecological Society of Australia Conference, to be held at the University of Sydney, on how economists may productively collaborate with ecologists and other natural scientists on some of the major issues of the day (be they water, climate, biodiversity, etc.). Some of the notes I used, as well as some examples from colleagues, follow.

Economics, science and multi-disciplinary work

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:25:52 +1000

How and why should scientists and economists collaborate in research on the issues of the day? Some preliminary and half-formed thoughts on the matter follow. These come partly in the context of me being asked to organise and host a session at the Ecological Society of Australia Conference, held at the University of Sydney, on how economists may productively collaborate with ecologists and other natural scientists on some of the major issues of the day (be they water, climate, biodiversity, etc.). More detail on what was presented in that session to be posted in another separate entry or two.

The Stern Review and the Discounting Controversy

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 07:48:22 +1000

Nicholas Stern’s review into climate change is one of the most significant pieces of economic policy analysis to make its way into the public realm, possibly ever. It generated a huge amount of controversy, and was both praised and attacked by fellow economists and other academics, scientists, environmentalists and policy commentators. Here, I will outline for a lay audience the major issues that were disputed amongst economists. (I’ll keep it as short as I can, which is still long, but I’ve done my best.)

Welcome to the Sustainability Blog

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:28:51 +1000

I'm setting up this blog as a means of presenting discussions of the environment, natural resource and sustainable development through the lens of economics. There are multiple aims and intended audiences, but fundamentally, the discussion is intended to be at a "non-technical" level for non-specialist readers. This includes undergraduates (particularly, but not only, students in the Bachelor of Resource Economics degree), but also academics from other disciplines, and the general public. Read through for more details.