The Political Economy Forum
3 total works
Unified by their desire to produce innovative solutions to the problem of allocating fresh water, the prominent contributors to Water Marketing argue that government regulations inadvertently encourage the waste of our most vital resource by preventing the evolution of property rights to water marketing. In addition to considering how institutional impediments to water markets might be removed, this collection of original essays emphasizes how transborder allocation of water should be improved. With its mix of U.S. and international case studies, this volume offers insightful public policy alternatives to water marketing that will stimulate a rethinking of traditional policies.
This collection of new and classic essays by a group of distinguished economists and wildlife experts challenges the prevailing idea that wildlife and markets are inimical to one another, arguing that markets can play an important role in preserving animal species and their habitat. In fact, the editors argue, the late nineteenth-century slaughter of wild game occurred because common ownership gave no incentive for hunters to limit their take or for owners of habitat to invest in wildlife. Using case studies from North America and southern Africa, the essays discuss how 'enviro-capitalism' has been successfully implemented to encourage elephant and rhino preservation and look at the politics of the international ivory ban. They examine the historical role of incentive wildlife management and the problems with political wildlife management that do not take into account the ownership of habitat.
Arguing that Americans should turn to private entrepreneurs rather than the federal government to guarantee the protection and improvement of environmental quality, the authors document numerous examples of how entrepreneurs have satisfied the growing demand for environmental quality. Beginning with historical cases from the turn of the century, they illuminate the benefits of entrepreneurial participation in wildlife preservation, aquatic habitat production, and environmentally friendly housing development. As government budgets shrink and more people question the efficacy of government regulations, Enviro-Capitalists offers alternatives to traditional thinking about the environment. While the book does not claim that the private sector can provide solutions to all environmental problems, it offers innovative ideas that will cultivate and encourage environmental entrepreneurship.