Author Archives: Adam Bailey

Pollution Control and Output

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Adam Bailey

Discussions of pollution control often focus on abatement technologies. But that’s only half the picture. Suppose a profit-maximising firm is producing and selling a good, but the production process emits a pollutant. In the absence of policy intervention, it will … Continue reading →

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Constant Consumption with Resource Depletion

Posted on December 14, 2016 by Adam Bailey

I present here a defence of the following proposition: to maintain consumption per person in the long run as non-renewable resources are increasingly depleted, the world needs technical progress so that we can obtain more output from available resources.  The … Continue reading →

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A Key Technique of Environmental Economics

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Adam Bailey

Dynamic optimisation, also known as optimal control, is one of the most important techniques of environmental and natural resource economics.  Although it’s difficult,  the basics should be a compulsory element of graduate-level courses in these fields. I managed to get … Continue reading →

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In Defence of the Linear Demand Function

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Adam Bailey

Presentations of microeconomic analysis often assume linear demand functions, but rarely justify them in terms of utility theory. However it can be done, and without making outrageous assumptions. Originally posted 11/2/2016.  Re-posted following site reorganisation 21/6/2016. Run a Google search … Continue reading →

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