资源与环境经济学Chapter 5.ppt

Chapter 5 Sustainable Development: Defining The Concept 1. Introduction Main contents: Investigate one particular fairness concern----the treatment of future generations. Begin by considering a specific, ethically challenging situation-----the allocation of a depletable resource over time. Defining what we mean by a fair intertemporal allocation. Take this theoretical definition and consider how it can be made operationally measurable. 2. A Two-Period Model According to dynamic efficiency, the objective is to balance present and future uses of this resource by maximizing the present value of the net benefits derived from the use of those resources. This implies a particular allocation of the resource across time. 2. A Two-Period Model Assume: We have a fixed supply of a depletable resource to allocate between two periods. Demand is constant in the two periods, the marginal willingness-to-pay is given by the formula P=8-0.4q, and marginal cost is constant at $2 per unit. 2. A Two-Period Model If the total supply were 30 or greater, what’s the efficient allocation between two periods? If the available supply is less than 30, suppose it is equal to 20, how do we determine the efficient allocation? Figure 5.1 2. A Two-Period Model How to find the allocation that maximizes present value? The dynamically efficient allocation of this resource has to satisfy the condition that the present value of the marginal net benefit from the last unit in period 1 equals the present value of the marginal net benefit in period 2. Figure 5.2 2. A Two-Period Model Any efficient allocation method must take scarcity into account. Intemporal scarcity imposes an opportunity cost that we henceforth refer to as the marginal user cost. The marginal user cost is the present value of the forgone opportunities at the margin. Figure 5.3 2. A Two-Period Model An efficient market would have to consider not only the marginal cost of extraction for this resource, but the marginal user cost as well. In t