Natural resources and energy : theory and policy

Natural resources and energy are rapidly gaining importance as areas of serious academic inquiry. This growing scholarly concern is largely the result of increasingly critical natural re source scarcities and energy shortages that pose a serious threat to sustained economic growth and improved quality of life. The significantly heightened interest in the field is beginning to manifest itself in the form of in-depth critical scrutinies and analyses of a number of specific problems and issues. This represents a distinct departure from the earlier efforts, which were largely in the nature of surveys and overviews of broad problem areas.

This book consists of theoretical discussions and case studies of some key issues of current and continuing interest in the natural resources and energy field. The topics studied include such frontier issues as the economics of water transfer, the role of multinational corporations in ocean resource development, methodological issues in estimating energy requirements, institutional constraints to water resource development and coastal zone management, biomass as an alternative energy source, and the role of natural resources in economic develop ment. The book attempts to synthesize theoretical insights and empirical research findings to provide an integrated macro framework from which to examine and analyze a variety of natural resource problems. The material is so organized as to illustrate and illuminate the application of theory to the solu tion of real-world problems.