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An Ivory-Tower Take on the Ivory Trade

Author

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  • Michael De Alessi

Abstract

Kremer and Morcom focus on how the price of ivory affects the incentive to poach elephants and how government policies can be developed to address this problem. Despite an ostensible emphasis on policy, however, the ‘state of the world’ that is assumed throughout the paper is so far removed from the real world of elephant conservation that the authors’ policy recommendations ring hollow. The exclusive focus on state intervention, as opposed to private action, is the ultimate failure of the Kremer-Morcom approach. The private approach, ignored by Kremer and Morcom, offers the greatest hope for elephant conservation—an approach that depends not in devaluing the animals under an open-access regime, but in making them more valuable under differing types of private ownership regimes.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael De Alessi, 2004. "An Ivory-Tower Take on the Ivory Trade," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 1(1), pages 47-54, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:ejw:journl:v:1:y:2004:i:1:p:47-54
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lueck, Dean & Michael, Jeffrey A, 2003. "Preemptive Habitat Destruction under the Endangered Species Act," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(1), pages 27-60, April.
    2. Clark, Colin W, 1973. "Profit Maximization and the Extinction of Animal Species," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(4), pages 950-961, July-Aug..
    3. Anderson, Terry L & Hill, Peter J, 1975. "The Evolution of Property Rights: A Study of the American West," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(1), pages 163-179, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Kremer, 2004. "Response to De Alessi," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 1(1), pages 55-57, April.
    2. Hsiung Bingyuan, 2009. "Benchmarks and Economic Analysis," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 75-99, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    elephants; property rights; wildlife management; poaching; endangered species; ivory; extinction pressure; CITES; Endangered Species Act; Africa; storable goods;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q20 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - General
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy

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