We assess the impact of the existence of a costly energy substitute (like wind, solar) for a non-renewable resource (like oil, coal) on the sustainability of consumption. The prospects for sustainability depend crucially on the costs of this substitute. If one can reduce the costs of the...

We show that the relationship between wealth and economic losses due to natural disasters is strongly linked to disaster risk. We first build an analytical model that demonstrates how countries that face a low hazard of disasters are likely to see first increasing losses and then decreasing ones...

In this article we study the implication of thresholds in preferences. To model this we extend the basic model of John and Pecchenino (1994) by allowing the current level of environmental quality to have a discrete impact on how an agent trades off future consumption and environmental quality....

In this article we study the implication of thresholds in preferences. To model this we extend the basic model of John and Pecchenino (1994) by allowing the current level of environmental quality to have a discrete impact on how an agent trades off future consumption and environmental quality....

This model provides a mechanism explaining the surge in environmental culture across the globe. We discuss empirical evidence on the determinants of environmental culture and preferences. Based upon this empirical evidence, we develop an overlapping generations model with environmental quality...