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Mathematical analysis is key to the modeling and management of natural resources. By presenting required mathematical methods, classic dynamic models for non-renewable and renewable resources, and by exploring several contemporary problems, this text provides a foundation for advanced research. Topics include seminal models in fishery, forestry and non-renewable resource management, as well as an extensive collection of contemporary applications that include the optimal transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, the optimal timing of interventions to save endangered species, pest control and the optimal management of antibiotic resistance. Deterministic and stochastic models in both discrete and continuous time are covered. The book encourages students to pursue a deeper understanding of the analytics of resource problems and to deploy numerical methods when analytical results prove intractable. The combination of analysis, theory and applications will launch the next generation of resource economists, while serving as a useful reference for established researchers.
List of contents
1. Overview of fundamental concepts; 2. Difference and differential equations; 3. Dynamic optimization; 4. Resource economics with Mathematica; 5. Nonrenewable resources; 6. Bioeconomic modes of fisheries; 7. Optimal stopping rules; 8. The control of pests and invasive species; 9. Economics of antibiotics efficacy; 10. Wildlife, agriculture and labour; 11. Open access and optimal inventory.
About the author
Jon M. Conrad is Professor Emeritus in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, New York. He is the author of Resource Economics, 2nd edition (Cambridge, 2010) and co-author of Natural Resource Economics: Notes and Problems (Cambridge, 1987).Daniel Rondeau is Professor of Economics at the University of Victoria, Canada, with publications in leading environmental and resource economics journals including the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Environmental and Resource Economics, Resource and Energy Economics, Land Economics, Marine Resource Economics and the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.
Summary
This text provides students, researchers and policy analysts with a review of mathematical methods underpinning natural resource economics. It presents the field's foundational models along with an extensive collection of contemporary applications, including the transition from fossil fuels and the preservation of endangered species.
Additional text
'Natural Resource Economics presents the theory behind resource economics with an elegant mathematical presentation that should be very appealing to advanced students. Their handling of dynamic modeling and application of that theory to several different resource topics is particularly impressive.' Robert Mendelsohn, Yale University
Report
'Natural Resource Economics is one of the rare books in resource economics that combines theory and applications, but also the mathematical tools to apply the theory to real world problems. It provides solid coverage of the theory of nonrenewable and renewable resources while focusing on specific applications - for example, the economics of antibiotics - which are becoming increasingly important. Overall, this is a book which would be an invaluable asset not only to graduate students but also to experienced researchers in resource economics.' Anastasios Xepapadeas, Athens University of Economics and Business, and University of Bologna
