Legislative choice and referenda represent two processes used to make collective decisions. Both have been employed to define property rights in the coastal zone. We describe these processes as they apply to the determination of property rights in California's coastal zone. Economic analysis is...

Debates about the efficacy of public utility rates continue to occur in every state as well as the nation's Capitol. However, the central question continues to elude policymakers: Should the costs which are used to determine utility rates be backward or forward-looking? To answer this questions,...

William E. Sharpe, in his October 1978 article in this journal, has presented several methods (policies) for municipal water conservation. Moreover, Mr. Sharpe has expressed his opinion concerning the desirability of each. This was done without reference to a specific objective (what is formally...

Installing water meters is often considered as a practical water conservation policy. To evaluate the benefits and costs of metering, it is convenient to use a formal water conservations model. The objective is to maximize the net benefits from the adoption of any given strategy. This is...

William E. Sharpe's "Counterpoints" (August 1982) demonstrates that private ownership without competition leads to undesirable results. To remedy the situation, Sharpe recommends public ownership and the political process. What Sharpe fails to reveal is that superior results in the provision of...

Before we begin to discuss federal timber policies we must make several background observations. One, lumber and wood products are an important sector in the U.S. economy. For example, lumber and wood products account for about 14% of the total cost of building a new home. The second this we...