Uncertainty in Environmental Economics

Uncertainty in Environmental Economics

An introductory course in environmental economics typically teaches students that the design and evaluation of a policy to deal with an environmental problem boils down to cost-benefit analysis. The instructor might proceed as follows. Left to their own, humans (i.e., producers and consumers) do bad things to the environment, such as polluting rivers and lakes, spewing sulfur dioxide into the a...

Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: Decisions under Risk and Uncertainty [Prepared for Encyclopedia of Environmental and Resource Economics]

Essays in Environmental Economics

This thesis examines various aspects of environmental economics. The first chapter estimates how individuals' beliefs about climate change are affected by local weather fluctuations. Climate change is a one-time uncertain event with no opportunities for learning; the belief updating process may not be fully Bayesian. Using unique survey data on beliefs about the occurrence of the effects of glo...

Botnet Economics: Uncertainty Matters

Botnets have become an increasing security concern in today’s Internet. Thus far the mitigation to botnet attacks is a never ending arms race focusing on technical approaches. In this paper, we model botnet-related cybercrimes as a result of profit-maximizing decision-making from the perspectives of both botnet masters and renters/attackers. From this economic model, we can understand the effec...

Evolutionary thinking in environmental economics

Evolutionary and environmental economics have a potentially close relationship. This paper reviews past and identifies potential applications of evolutionary concepts and methods to environmental economics. This covers a number of themes: resource use and ecosystem management; growth and environmental resources; economic and evolutionary progress; and individual behavior and environmental polic...