tailieunhanh - Ebook Natural resource and environmental economics: Part 2

Part 2 book “Natural resource and environmental economics” has contents: International environmental problems, Cost–benefit analysis, valuing the environment, irreversibility, risk and uncertainty, the efficient and optimal use of natural resources, the theory of optimal resource extraction, and other contents. | CHAPTER 10 International environmental problems The nation-state is here to stay for the near horizon. Thus, practical solutions for today’s global challenges must adjust for this reality. Sandler (1997), p. 212 Learning objectives During the course of this chapter we address a set of important questions that relate to international environmental problems. After studying this chapter, the reader should understand the implications of these questions, be able to answer them in general terms, and have the ability to apply those general answers to specific international environmental problems. The questions we deal with are as follows: n In which ways do international environmental problems differ from purely national (or subnational) problems? n What additional issues are brought into contention by virtue of an environmental problem being ‘international’? n What insights does the body of knowledge known as game theory bring to our understanding of international environmental policy? n What determines the degree to which cooperation takes place between countries and policy is coordinated? Put another way, which conditions favour (or discourage) the likelihood and extent of cooperation between countries? n Why is cooperation typically a gradual, dynamic process, with agreements often being embodied in treaties or conventions that are general frameworks of agreed principles, but in which subsequent negotiation processes determine the extent to which cooperation is taken? n Is it possible to use such conditions to explain how far efficient cooperation has gone concerning acid rain, lower-atmosphere ozone, and greenhouse-gas pollution? Introduction Previous chapters have shown that markets are likely to generate inefficient outcomes in the presence of externalities and public goods. The interdependencies that they create are not, and cannot be, adequately addressed through unregulated market mechanisms. However, when all generators and victims of an externality – or .