The price of food has become very volatile in recent years for a variety of reasons, including a strengthened connection between the prices of agricultural commodities and other commodities such as oil and metals, more volatile production due to more frequent droughts and floods, and a rising demand for biofuels. Understanding the determinants of agricultural commodity prices and the connections between prices has become a high priority for academics and applied economists who are interested in agricultural marketing and trade, policy analysis and international rural development. This book builds on the various theories of commodity price relationships in competitive markets over space, time and form. It also builds on the various theories of commodity price relationships in markets... Less

This applied, practical approach to environmental economic theory is ideal, even if you have minimal economics exposure. The text's strong focus on policy and solid economic theory combines with timely real applications. You gain a clear perspective of the relationship between market activity and the environment with a robust business perspective that's often overlooked in other similar texts. The book emphasizes the use of economic analytical tools, such as market models, benefit-cost analysis, and risk analysis, to assess environmental problems and evaluate policy solutions.

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... Less

The last decade has brought dramatic changes in the way that researchers analyze economic and financial time series. This book synthesizes these recent advances and makes them accessible to first-year graduate students. James Hamilton provides the first adequate text-book treatments of important innovations such as vector autoregressions, generalized method of moments, the economic and statistical consequences of unit roots, time-varying variances, and nonlinear time series models. In addition, he presents basic tools for analyzing dynamic systems (including linear representations, autocovariance generating functions, spectral analysis, and the Kalman filter) in a way that integrates economic theory with the practical difficulties of analyzing and interpreting real-world data. Time Series... Less

This rigorous and comprehensive text encompasses modern theoretical and applied methods of analysis in the field of international trade. Rather than presenting the theory as fact, the authors illustrate the application of theory and consider those areas where theory appears deficient to explain observed phenomena.The analysis begins with perfect competition, followed by an examination of imperfectly competitive market structures (including a wide range of models of price and quantity competition) and of multinational production. Part 1 provides an overview of the patterns and policy of the trading world; part 2 explores the trade and trade policy of competitive markets; part 3 discusses the trade and trade policy of imperfectly competitive markets. Of special interest are the final two... Less

This book provides an explanation of key underlying economic principles, allowing the reader to come to a better understanding of the critical factors that structure and guide transport markets. This is done through an examination of the interaction between the behaviour of individual users and providers of transport services and transport authorities actions through the implementation of transport policy. The book also considers on-going reforms in the organisation of all aspects of transport provision. These reforms seek to move transport delivery away from a model of high state intervention towards one that is far more market focused in its approach, thereby significantly increasing individuals’ responsibilities for their own transport actions. The Economics of Transport covers... Less

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.,

These studies are based on information on time use in nine countries. Such studies will become more common as more governments fund time-budget surveys and as economists realize the benefits of using this type of data. Each does something that either could not have been accomplished at all, or that could have been done much less convincingly on the data that one typically obtains from households. Part I deals with the "when?" and "with whom?" questions describing human behavior. These questions have been essentially ignored by social scientists generally, and have been completely ignored by economists. So long as we believe that people have preferences over the timing and the context of their activities, we should be able to apply economic analysis usefully to their decisions. Part II... Less

This volume presents straightforward, innovative research on the estimation of demand systems and the measurement of consumer preferences. Demand studies and understanding consumer behavior remain two of the most important areas of analysis by practicing applied economists and econometricians. This volume also offers state of the art research in demand analysis, using modern econometric tools to analyze consumer behavior and estimate demand relationships for well known demand systems. This book will be aimed at a broad audience of economists and other social scientists; including generalists, graduate students, private sector economists and others.

In this theoretical investigation of the development through time of a pure labor economy, the author shifts the theory of long-term economic development away from the traditional framework based on capital accumulation to new foundations based on learning and technical progress. He gives a detailed analysis of the structural dynamics of prices and production, and the necessary mobility of employment. Institutional and social learning, know-how, and the diffusion of information emerge as the decisive factors accounting for the success and failure of industrial societies.

This volume studies the driving forces behind the development of the European gas market and the uncertainties facing the industry in Europe. There is widespread consensus within Europe about the advantages of natural gas to reduce air pollution and to enhance energy supply diversification. Thus taking into account these most fundamental prerequisites for increased gas demand, this volume addresses the more immediate question of how the conglomeration and organisation of European gas industries will be influenced by this latent demand potential. The purpose of this book is to focus both on the analysis of evolutionary organisational processes within the gas industry, and the pressures for change provoked by external forces such as interfuel competition, environmental imperatives and new... Less

Time series analysis and forecasting have become increasingly important in many fields of research and application. The goal of this book is to distill and integrate current research results into cohesive and comprehensible methodologies, and to provide a streamlined approach to time series analysis and forecasting. This book is written in a manner which is suitable for a two-semester course in applied time series analysis and forecasting. It can be used in a one-semester course by excluding more advanced topics in the later chapters. The material is targeted to advanced undergraduate and graduate level students in various fields of study (e.g., business, economics, statistics, engineering, medicine, social sciences, environmental sciences, politics, etc.). With its emphasis on... Less

Despite its great importance, there are surprisingly few economic studies of the impact of climate on agriculture and how agriculture can adapt under a variety of conditions. This book examines 22 countries across four continents, including both developed and developing economies. It provides both a good analytical basis for additional work and solid results for policy debate concerning income distributional effects such as abatement, adaptation, and equity. Agriculture and grazing are a central sector in the livelihood of many people, particularly in developing countries. This book uses the Ricardian method to examine the impact of climate change on agriculture. The book also quantifies how farmers adapt to climate. The findings suggest that agriculture in developing countries is more... Less

In Economic Growth and Structural Evolution, the authors propose that China's reform strategy is to promote capital accumulation through a gradual adjustment of its relative price system, enabling the industrial capital to obtain higher profits and thus unleashing the great potential of economic growth. Moreover, the Chinese government prioritizes the growth of different industries at different times through measures such as the dual-track price system leading to the rise of township and village enterprises and the opening up of eastern coastal areas resulting in rapid urbanization and the boom of the real estate industry. This growth pattern has effectively mobilized China's huge labor resources and given full play to its comparative advantages. However, the pattern is not sustainable as... Less

This book presents an original economic analysis of the English professional football industry. The economic influences on decisions taken by owners, managers, players and spectators are all considered, using theoretical and empirical methods of economic investigation. The empirical analysis draws on English club-level data, with extensive international comparisons. Concludes with an extended discussion of a number of major economic policy issues affecting the future of the football industry, including European super league proposals, contractual arrangements in the players' labor market, and football's evolving relationship with the broadcasting media.

What do economists have to say about behavior within the context of the family? This book improves our understanding of how families and markets interact, why important aspects of families have been changing in recent decades, and how families respond to, and are affected by, public policy. It covers a broader range of topics with more consistency than have previous studies, including all major theoretical developments in the field over the past decade. John Ermisch builds his analysis on the premise that the standard analytical methods of microeconomics can help us understand resource allocation and the distribution of welfare within the family.Families are dynamic institutions-- and so the author uses these same methods to study family formation and dissolution (including marriage,... Less

Despite the extensive body of literature on energy economics, very little economics research has been conducted that focuses specifically on dams and hydroelectric power. Brian Edwards addresses this deficiency by examining the multiple roles that dams play, as well as the role of hydroelectric power within the context of the energy industry. Brian Edwards provides an in-depth analysis of how dams are used in water management, flood control and irrigation, as well as the environmental impacts of their construction and operation. He examines the types of restrictions imposed on operators to mitigate impacts, and the resulting tradeoffs between achieving hydroelectric generation and environmental management objectives. Also covered is the role of hydroelectric power in both a regulatory... Less

Never before has the quest to balance the needs of people, the environment, and the economy been so important. While sustainability has been widely taken up by governments and business, the world has continued to move in increasingly unsustainable directions, from continued dependence on fossil energy to rising greenhouse gas emissions, and erosion of biodiversity. We know what the right thing to do is, but somehow we cannot make the changes that are needed, and so we continue with business as usual, producing business-as-usual results. Based on more than fifteen years of research and practice, Environmental and Economic Sustainability introduces the environmental and economic sustainability assessment (EESA), a new way to make decisions that meets the challenges of the 21st century... Less

Water provides benefits as a commodity for agriculture, industry, and households--and as a public good for scenic values, waste assimilation, wildlife habitats, and recreational use. However, even as the nature and needs of economies change, water continues to be allocated to other than high priority uses, water quality continues to decline, environmental uses get inadequate attention, and floods and droughts take an unnecessarily severe toll. One reason for this is that price signals that reflect scarcities of goods and thereby guide investments and resource allocation in the private sector are usually distorted or absent in decision-making relating to water. To aid in cost-benefit analysis under conditions where appropriate price incentives are absent, economists have developed a range... Less

This book is a must for individuals and companies that have an interest in developing sustainable technology and systems in the complex 'Web of Metals' on a first principles, technological and economic basis, with a focus to the minerals, metals and product manufacturing industries. In this inter-, intra- and trans- disciplinary book the material/metal cycle will be central, addressing technology as the basis for achieving sustainability within the system of primary mineral and metal producing, and the consumer product material cycles, linked to nature's cycles. The following major topics (not exclusive) are discussed in a detail, which will satisfy company CEO's and students of environment, engineering, economics, and law alike: (i) industrial ecology, (ii) system engineering concepts,... Less

This important book deals with the essential principles of resource and environmental economics, provides applications to contemporary issues in this field, and outlines and assesses policies being used or proposed for managing the use of environmental and natural resources. Covering specific contemporary topics such as agriculture and the environment, water use, greenhouse gas management, biodiversity conservation, tourism and the environment, and environmental economics and health, leading issues in resource and environmental economics are outlined and analyzed in an innovative manner. Institutional economics (both new and traditional) is applied and compared with other approaches such as neoclassical economics, behavioral economics and the Austrian School of Economics. This... Less

This book provides a systematic review of those economic approaches for valuing the environment and natural resources that use information on what people do, not what they say. The authors have worked on models of revealed preferences for valuing environmental and natural resources for several decades. The book provides a candid review of the major conceptual challenges and an exploration of neglected issues in the literature.

This textbook provides a systematic survey of the most recent developments in input-output analysis and their applications, helping us to examine questions such as: Which industries are competitive? What are the multiplier effects of an investment program? How do environmental restrictions impact on prices? Linear programming and national accounting are introduced and used to resolve issues such as the choice of technique, the comparative advantage of a national economy, its efficiency and dynamic performance. Technological and environmental spillovers are analyzed, both at the national level (between industries) and the international level (the measurement of globalization effects).

This textbook provides a systematic survey of the most recent developments in input-output analysis and their applications, helping us to examine questions such as: Which industries are competitive? What are the multiplier effects of an investment program? How do environmental restrictions impact on prices? Linear programming and national accounting are introduced and used to resolve issues such as the choice of technique, the comparative advantage of a national economy, its efficiency and dynamic performance. Technological and environmental spillovers are analyzed, both at the national level (between industries) and the international level (the measurement of globalization effects).

Rutger Hoekstra examines the complex relationship between the monetary economy and the materials flows that are extracted and emitted by economic activities. These physical flows are responsible for many important environmental problems such as unsustainable resource depletion, waste production and climate change. This book discusses, applies and improves upon techniques which link the monetary and physical economies for environmental analyses. The book uses two sources of analysis: the physical input-output table (PIOT), a macro-economic account for the physical economy, recording material and product flows, including resource extraction, emissions and recycling; and structural decomposition analysis (SDA), which assesses the influence of structural changes, such as economic growth,... Less