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On the Future of Environmental Economics

Source: www2.uni-siegen.de
Topic: Environmental Economics

Sort Desciption: The backbone of environmental economics: Allocation theory and Coasean economics .... time both in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management ...

Content Inside: On the Future of Environmental Economics Rdiger Pethig University of Siegen 1. Introduction Environmental economics (EE 1 ) passed its age of infancy. In terms of monographs proceedings volumes specialized professional journals and papers in economic journals it grew rapidly over the last decades and established itself as a discipline based on the powerful economic paradigm and reaching beyond it to capture important economy-environment interactions. As compared to its mother discipline economics EE is still young but the juvenile is increasingly interested in knowing where she comes from what her present position is and in particular where she will or ought to go. After a period of strong if not stormy growth the desire for orientation and guidance increases. It materializes in new textbooks survey articles (in specialized areas) handbooks yearbooks 2 and conferences like the present one which seek to identify and discuss the frontiers of research in EE. Focusing on research frontiers is a challenging and ambitious if not presumptuous enterprise directed towards outlooks on what is perceived as the likely promising and/or necessary agenda of future research. Let me be very clear from the outset that I am neither capable nor willing to adopt the role of a prophet a futurologist an 'opinion leader' or a 'trend setter'. In my view the most promising way to think about future research in EE is to let competent senior environmental economists (EEsts) survey their specific research topics and use their experience and overview to identify what will be or ought to be ahead of us. This is in fact the approach taken at this conference. But what is then the possible role of a 'generalist' paper on the future of EE? In my understanding the task assigned to me is not to outperform all these experts. I rather take it as a chance denied to them to focus on major broad lines and issues followed by the EE profession so far and to assess its present achievements. Thus ...