Land Resource Economics and Sustainable Development: Economic Policies and the Common Good

George Jackson is an agricultural resource information consultant.

The intent of a sustainable-development program is to ensure that our
present resources are managed in such a way that they are available as
equally productive resources for future generations. Discussions related
to the need for sustainability are often dismissed until we mention the
sudden demise of the Atlantic cod-fishing industry. What went wrong?
Could this happen as suddenly in another field?

This postsecondary-level economics text outlines the role of economics
in evaluating sustainable-development strategies for resource
management. The economic evaluations are discussed in the context of
global warming, soil conservation, wetlands, water, urban/rural
planning, government programs, public rangeland and forest management,
and the use of public lands. The economic models are usually followed by
a working example of the theory. Also discussed is the issue of
externality (i.e., the influence of a program on neighbors).

The text will be of particular interest to resource-management
policy-makers, students, and researchers. Its author is a professor in
UBC’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Forest Resources
Management.