IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/enreec/v9y1997i4p429-449.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economics and biological evolution

Author

Listed:
  • Alistair Munro

Abstract

The employment of insecticides raises the relative fitness of resistant insects; the use of antibiotics applies selection pressure in favour of resistant strains of bacteria; lower limits on fish net mesh size raises the advantages of smaller adults. These are some of the many examples of the unintended impact of human activity upon biological evolution. Often this evolution has economic significance, as it does in the examples quoted. This paper examines some of the principles involved and provides a preliminary analysis of the extent to which the economically optimal inducement of evolution differs from that arising when changes in selection pressures are not anticipated. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1997

Suggested Citation

  • Alistair Munro, 1997. "Economics and biological evolution," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 9(4), pages 429-449, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:9:y:1997:i:4:p:429-449
    DOI: 10.1007/BF02441760
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/BF02441760
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/BF02441760?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Regev, Uri & Shalit, Haim & Gutierrez, A. P., 1983. "On the optimal allocation of pesticides with increasing resistance: The case of alfalfa weevil," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 86-100, March.
    2. Howarth, Richard B & Norgaard, Richard B, 1992. "Environmental Valuation under Sustainable Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(2), pages 473-477, May.
    3. Darwin C. Hall & Richard B. Norgaard, 1973. "On the Timing and Application of Pesticides," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 55(2), pages 198-201.
    4. Marini Giancarlo & Scaramozzino Pasquale, 1995. "Overlapping Generations and Environmental Control," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 64-77, July.
    5. Caputo, Michael R., 1990. "How to do comparative dynamics on the back of an envelope in optimal control theory," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 14(3-4), pages 655-683, October.
    6. D. Hueth & U. Regev, 1974. "Optimal Agricultural Pest Management with Increasing Pest Resistance," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 56(3), pages 543-552.
    7. Norgaard, Richard B., 1981. "Sociosystem and ecosystem coevolution in the amazon," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 238-254, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. O'Shea, Lucy & Ulph, Alistair, 2008. "The role of pest resistance in biotechnology R&D investment strategy," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 213-228, March.
    2. Robert U. Ayres & Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh & John M. Gowdy, 1998. "Viewpoint: Weak versus Strong Sustainability," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 98-103/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    3. Jeroen Bergh, 2007. "Evolutionary thinking in environmental economics," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 521-549, October.
    4. Stéphane Mechoulan, 2007. "Market structure and communicable diseases," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(2), pages 468-492, May.
    5. Joëlle Noailly, 2008. "Coevolution of economic and ecological systems," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 1-29, February.
    6. Rammel, Christian & van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M., 2003. "Evolutionary policies for sustainable development: adaptive flexibility and risk minimising," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2-3), pages 121-133, December.
    7. Shogren, Jason F. & Crocker, Thomas D., 1999. "Risk and Its Consequences," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 44-51, January.
    8. van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M., 2008. "Optimal diversity: Increasing returns versus recombinant innovation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 68(3-4), pages 565-580, December.
    9. Guttormsen, Atle G. & Kristofersson, Dadi & Nævdal, Eric, 2008. "Optimal management of renewable resources with Darwinian selection induced by harvesting," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 167-179, September.
    10. Eppink, Florian V. & van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M., 2007. "Ecological theories and indicators in economic models of biodiversity loss and conservation: A critical review," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2-3), pages 284-293, March.
    11. Jeroen van den Bergh & John Gowdy, 2000. "Evolutionary Theories in Environmental and Resource Economics: Approaches and Applications," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 17(1), pages 37-57, September.
    12. Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh & Peter Nijkamp, 1998. "Advances in Environmental Economics: Analysis and Modelling," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 98-094/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    13. Nannen, Volker & van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M. & Eiben, A. E., 2008. "Impact of Environmental Dynamics on Economic Evolution: Uncertainty, Risk Aversion, and Policy," MPRA Paper 13834, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Jeroen Bergh & Giorgos Kallis, 2013. "A survey of evolutionary policy: normative and positive dimensions," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 281-303, October.
    15. Eric Nævdal, 2008. "Animal rationality and implications for resource management: the case of biological reserves for moose and pine," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 145-163, August.
    16. Gardner M. Brown & Jason F. Shogren, 1998. "Economics of the Endangered Species Act," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 3-20, Summer.
    17. Thomas Sterner & Jeroen van den Bergh, 1998. "Frontiers of Environmental and Resource Economics," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 11(3), pages 243-260, April.
    18. Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh, 2004. "Evolutionary Analysis of the Relationship between Economic Growth, Environmental Quality and Resource Scarcity," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 04-048/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    19. C. Martijn van der Heide & Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh & Ekko C. van Ierland, 1999. "Globalisation and Nature Policy: An Integrated Environmental-Economic Framework," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 99-090/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    20. Sylvie Geisendorf & Christian Klippert, 2022. "Integrated sustainability policy assessment – an agent-based ecological-economic model," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 1017-1048, July.
    21. Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh & Giorgos Kallis, 2009. "Evolutionary Policy," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2009-02, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    22. Feola, Giuseppe & Binder, Claudia R., 2010. "Towards an improved understanding of farmers' behaviour: The integrative agent-centred (IAC) framework," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 2323-2333, October.
    23. R.K. Turner & J.C.J.M. van den Bergh & A. Barendregt & E. Maltby, 1998. "Ecological-Economic Analysis of Wetlands," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 98-050/3, Tinbergen Institute.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marsh, Thomas L. & Huffaker, Ray G. & Folwell, Raymond J. & Long, Gary, 1998. "An Intraseasonal Bioeconomic Model Of Plrv Net Necrosis," 1998 Annual meeting, August 2-5, Salt Lake City, UT 20935, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    2. Saphores, Jean-Daniel & Conrad, Jon M., 1996. "The Economic Threshold With a Stochastic Pest Population: An Application to the European Red Mite," Working Papers 127904, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    3. Lichtenberg, Erik & Zilberman, David & Archibald, Sandra O., 1990. "Economics and Pesticides," Working Papers 197750, University of Maryland, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    4. Secchi, Silvia, 2000. "Economic issues in resistance management," ISU General Staff Papers 2000010108000013359, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    5. Laurence Kotlikoff & Felix Kubler & Andrey Polbin & Simon Scheidegger, 2021. "Pareto-improving carbon-risk taxation [The environment and directed technical change]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 36(107), pages 551-589.
    6. Silvia Secchi & Terrance M. Hurley & Bruce A. Babcock & Richard L. Hellmich, 2006. "Managing European Corn Borer Resistance to Bt Corn with Dynamic Refuges," Natural Resource Management and Policy, in: Richard E. Just & Julian M. Alston & David Zilberman (ed.), Regulating Agricultural Biotechnology: Economics and Policy, chapter 0, pages 559-577, Springer.
    7. Hyun Park & Apostolis Philippopoulos, 2016. "Environmental Ramsey Policy and Sustainable Balanced Growth," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 488-501, May.
    8. Laurence J. Kotlikoff & Andrey V. ZUBAREV & Andrey POLBIN, 2021. "Will the Paris accord accelerate climate change [Ускоряет Ли Парижское Соглашение Изменение Климата?]," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 1, pages 8-37, February.
    9. Endress, Lee H. & Pongkijvorasin, Sittidaj & Roumasset, James & Wada, Christopher A., 2014. "Intergenerational equity with individual impatience in a model of optimal and sustainable growth," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 620-635.
    10. repec:hal:pseose:insu-01105358 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Lucas Bretschger & Karen Pittel, 2005. "Innovative Investments, Natural Resources and Intergenerational Fairness: Are Pension Funds Good for Sustainable Development?," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 141(III), pages 355-376, September.
    12. Heijdra, Ben J. & Kooiman, Jan Peter & Ligthart, Jenny E., 2006. "Environmental quality, the macroeconomy, and intergenerational distribution," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 74-104, January.
    13. Archibald, Sandra O. & McCorkle, Chester O. Jr & Howitt, Richard E., 1986. "A Dynamic Analysis Of Production Externalities : Pesticide Resistance In California Cotton," Working Papers 225802, University of California, Davis, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    14. Russell J. Gorddard & David J. Pannell & Greg Hertzler, 1995. "An Optimal Control Model For Integrated Weed Management Under Herbicide Resistance," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 39(1), pages 71-87, April.
    15. Hurley, Terrance M. & Babcock, Bruce A. & Hellmich, Richard L., 2001. "Bt Corn And Insect Resistance: An Economic Assessment Of Refuges," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 26(1), pages 1-19, July.
    16. Laurence Kotlikoff & Felix Kubler & Andrey Polbin & Jeffrey Sachs & Simon Scheidegger, 2021. "Making Carbon Taxation A Generational Win Win," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 62(1), pages 3-46, February.
    17. Arnaud Goussebaïle, 2022. "Democratic Climate Policies with Overlapping Generations," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 22/374, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    18. Desquilbet, Marion & Hermann, Markus, 2012. "An assessment of bioeconomic modeling of pest resistance with new insights into dynamic refuge fields," TSE Working Papers 12-263, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    19. Bullock, David S. & D'Arcangelo, Filippo Maria & Desquilbet, Marion, 2018. "A discussion of the market and policy failures associated with the adoption of herbicide-tolerant crops," TSE Working Papers 18-959, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Aug 2019.
    20. Gu, Xi & Marsh, Thomas L., 2017. "Pesticide Substitution Under Maximum Residue Limits: Application to Hops Production," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258572, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    21. Mouez Fodha, 2015. "Nuclear waste storage and environmental intergenerational externalities," International Journal of Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 18(1/2), pages 94-114.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:9:y:1997:i:4:p:429-449. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.