Property rights are commonly touted as a solution to common pool resource problems. But in practice the security of these property rights varies substantially owing to differences in design. In fisheries, the design of individual transferable quotas (ITQs) varies widely; the consequences of...

We study the optimal quota sequence, in a stationary environment, where a regulator and a non-strategic firm have asymmetric information. The regulator is able to learn about the unknown cost parameter by using a quota that is slack with positive probability. It is never optimal for the...

Unintentional introductions of nonindigenous plants, animals, and microbes cause significant ecological and agricultural crop damage worldwide. Trade in both manufactured and agricultural goods is a primary vector for such introductions. Fusing simple models of trade and biological...

I examine the estimated economic, ecological, and food security effects of future fishery management reform in Asia. Without climate change, most Asian fisheries stand to gain substantially from reforms. Optimizing fishery management could increase catch by 24% and profit by 34% over...

We compile global data to examine the current status, trends, threats, and opportunities in the world's wild-capture fisheries. We find that global fisheries have largely diverged—well-managed, often industrial fisheries tend to be in reasonably good health, while coastal fisheries, often from...

The conservation of biodiversity is a major environmental issue, one that promises to remain at or near the top of the environmental agenda for the foreseeable future. The loss of biodiversity affects human welfare as well as being lamentable for its own sake. Humans depend on natural systems to...

Input subsidies in natural resource sectors are widely believed to deplete the natural capital on which these sectors depend. However, estimating the causal effect of subsidies on resource extraction has been stymied by identification and data challenges. China's fishing fleet is the world's...

Input subsidies in natural resource sectors are widely believed to deplete the natural capital on which these sectors depend. However, estimating the causal effect of subsidies on resource extraction has been stymied by identification and data challenges. China’s fishing fleet is the world’s...