Are natural resources a 'curse' or a 'blessing'? The empirical evidence suggests either outcome is possible. The paper surveys a variety of hypotheses and supporting evidence for why some countries benefit and others lose from the presence of natural resources. These include that a resource...

This study aimed to discuss environmental sustainability issues of the Brazilian agricultural sector, regarding aspects such as the impacts of the sector's growth on the natural environment, current policies and strategies needed to mitigate these impacts. Historically, agricultural policies...

The theory of welfare accounting shows that comprehensive measures of net investment can be used to test whether an economy is following unsustainable paths of consumption. However, the notion of net investment used in most applied studies rules out technological progress and terms-of-trade...

An important evaluation problem in developing countries is assessing the value and optimal use of environmental resources as inputs into production. This is a key methodology required for many general evaluation approaches, e.g. ensuring the most efficient use of a resource requires...

Zimbabwe has a wealth of natural resources and is rich in biodiversity. The national Government is trying to achieve private sector led economic growth and the challenge to pursue both economic development and sound environmental management at the same time appears clear. The objective of this...

This paper develops two extensions of the dynamic model presented in Melitz (2003). The first extension consists in the introduction of technology choice between three alternative production technologies: L, M and H. L is assumed to be the same as Melitz's single production technology, while M...

It is believed that the primary economic solution to climate change is an introduction of a carbon pricing system anchored to the social cost of carbon, either as a form of tax or tradable permits. Potentially significant externalities accompanying the introduction of emission-reducing...

When a continuum of technologies is introduced to the model of Grossman and Helpman (1991), both continuous and discrete technological progress may occur as a result of technology choices by private firms. A good is created through R&D based on one of a continuum of technologies that differ in...

AT&T was known for both funding a world-class research lab and delaying deployment of useful innovations from the lab. To explain this behavior we consider a model with an incumbent facing a potential entrant. The incumbent can choose from two technologies for production: old and new. The...

It is often emphasized that the primary economic solution to climate change is the introduction of a carbon pricing system (tax or tradable permits) anchored to the social cost of carbon. This standard argument, however, misses the fact that if emission reduction is sought through the use of...