Fat Tails, Plastic Bags, and Barnacles: Environmental Economics Decoded

摘要

"People face tradeoffs." This is the first often foun-dational principles in Gregory Mankiw's oft-used introductory economics textbook. Gernot Wagner cites it in the book reviewed here, But Will the Planet Notice? How Smart Economics Can Save the World. Presumably, the principle is mentioned because it (a) generally defines the economic perspective and (b) precisely captures the dilemma faced by environmental policy makers. If we want cleaner air, we have to sacrifice cheap electricity. If we want to save endangered species, we have to sacrifice new condominiums on that old-growth forest. If we want to limit greenhouse gas emissions, we have to come to terms with slowed economic development. We trade off environment and business, environment and development-right? Wagner is out to prove that logic wrong. He is out to show that environmental economics is not an oxymoron, that well-designed public policy can satisfy business interests and environmentalists alike, and that it is possible for an economist to write a book that is both technically rigorous and accessible to readers-you don't have to trade off these qualities.