环境与自然资源经济学PPT1 Tietenberg_8e_ppt12_final.pptVIP

Chapter 12 Reproducible Private-Property Resources: Agriculture Introduction Chapter 12 covers agricultural practices and examines agricultural sustainability and efficiency. The three common hypotheses used to explain malnourishment are addressed. 1) a global scarcity of food; 2) a maldistribution of food among and within nations; 3) temporary shortages caused by natural phenomenon. Objectives Present the three theories on the causes of food shortages and hunger. Review price elasticity of demand with respect to agricultural/food products. Discuss the difference between scarcity and shortage. Represent these concepts using supply curves. Review and illustrate externalities associated with agricultural production and the environmental costs of agriculture. Discuss the benefits and costs of organic agriculture and of genetically modified foods. Outline the role of technology. Present and critique agricultural policies. Discuss issues in the least developed countries. Present the cobweb model Global Scarcity There is an absolute global scarcity caused by too many people trying to gain access to too little food. The hypothesis of a global scarcity of food suggests that sharing is counter productive if famine is inevitable. Sharing resources can prevent worldwide famine. Formulating the Global Scarcity Hypothesis With increasing populations, the demand for food is expected to increase. In order to determine whether scarcity is increasing or decreasing, we must examine how the market allocates food. Much of the western world’s arable land is privately owned. Land is fixed in supply and thus this analysis must be of a market with rising demand and a fixed factor of production (land). FIGURE 12.1 The Market for Food Two forms of global scarcity hypothesis are the strong form and the weak form which imply decreases in per capita food production and rises in the relative price of food over time respectively. The strong form suggests that decreases in per capita