Sustainability and the intergenerational distribution of natural resource entitlements

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gerlagh, R; Keyzer, MA
• 署名单位: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/S0047-2727(99)00122-X
• 发表日期: 2001
• 页码: 315-341
• 关键词: OLG models; property rights; steady states; sustainability

摘要

The paper describes an OLG economy with a single exhaustible resource that has amenity value. The steady states of this economy form a continuum, implying path-dependency. We compare three policy scenarios; first, a 'zero extraction' policy of enforced conservation that avoids environmental degradation, possibly at the expense of intertemporal efficiency. Second, a 'grandfathering' policy that endows the present generations with all resources, and that ensures efficiency but cannot prevent a persistent decline in lifetime utility from one generation to the next. Third, a 'trust fund' policy, where future generations receive claims for the natural resource. Of the three, only the trust fund ensures efficiency and protects welfare of all generations. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.