|
|||||
|
|
Why Economics Matters for Endangered Species Protection |
|
| Authors: | Jason F Shogren ‡‡‡ John Tschirhart Terry Anderson † Amy Whritenour Ando ‡ Steven R Beissinger § David Brookshire Gardner M Brown JR †† Don Coursey ‡‡ Robert Innes §§ Stephen M Meyer and Stephan Polasky††† |
| Institution: | Department of Economics and Finance , University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071–3985, U.S.A.; Political Economy Research Center , 502 S. 19th Avenue, Suite 211, Bozeman, MT 59718, U.S.A.; Resources for the Future , 1616 P Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, U.S.A.; Ecosystem Sciences Division , 151 Hilgard Hall #3110, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720–3110, U.S.A.; Department of Economics , 1915 Roma St. N.E., University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, U.S.A.; Department of Economics , University of Washington, Box 353330, Seattle, WA 98195, U.S.A; Harris School of Public Policy Studies , University of Chicago, 1155 East 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637, U.S.A.; Department of Agricultural Economics , University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, U.S.A.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Bldg. E53–402, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A.; Department of Applied Economics , University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A. |
| Abstract: | Abstract: We offer three reasons why economics matters more to species protection than many people think and what this implies for the ongoing debate over the reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Economics matters because (1) human behavior generally, and economic parameters in particular, help determine the degree of risk to a species; (2) in a world of scarce resources, the opportunity cost of species protection—the costs of reduced resources for other worthwhile causes—must be taken into account in decision making; and (3) economic incentives are critical in shaping human behavior, and consequently the recovery of species. Endangered species protection that explicitly addresses these basic principles can avoid wasting valuable resources that yield no gain in species protection. |
| Keywords: | |