The paper aims at a conceptual contribution to the normative economic analysis of rural de-velopment (RD) policies. RD is regarded as a problem of interaction between individuals; (lacking) structural change or the (missing) integration of externalities are therefore recon-structed as...

Biofuels are increasingly regarded as energy sources with the potential to solve diverse problems related to serious concerns, including climate change, environmental degradation, energy supply, and energy security. Here we examine biofuels, primarily biofuels used for transportation (e.g.,...

The paper provides a critical appraisal of the normative program of behavioral economics known as new paternalism. Part II of the paper discusses main empirical and conceptual drawbacks of this approach and provides arguments for the alternative non-welfarist normative tradition based on the...

The paper provides a critical appraisal of the normative program of behavioral economics known as new paternalism. Part I of the paper explores its theoretical foundations, describes major behavioral anomalies associated with bounded rationality of economic agents, discusses normative principles...

This paper has two goals. First, we discuss several emerging approaches to applied welfare analysis under non-standard (“behavioral”) assumptions concerning consumer choice. This provides a foundation for Behavioral Public Economics. Second, we illustrate applications of these approaches by...

This survey provides a structured picture of 40 years of literature which uses welfare economic tools to judge agricultural policy. Challenges and developments of normative agricultural policy analysis are discussed in an easily accessible graphical framework. It is shown how the literature has...

The activities of a port authority form but one of several factors that can contribute to the competitiveness of a port. A port authority can increase its contribution by optimising the various functions it performs in a facilitating and entrepreneurial manner. Port authority reform matters in...

The theoretical consistency and practical applicability of traditional welfare economics has long been subject to controversy. More recently the challenge has been added from evolutionary approaches that the individual preferences on which the welfare calculus is based are themselves subject to...