The Economics of Non-Convex Ecosystems (The Economics of Non-Market Goods and Resources, 4)

economists All Too Often Assume That Ecosystem And Population Dynamics Are Subject To Convex (even Linear) Processes. However, Research By Ecosystem And Population Ecologists Has Shown That The Processes In Question Are Very Often Non-convex. This Has Important Implications For Environmental And Resource Economics. Typically, A System Under Study Or Being Managed Would Contain Multiple Basins Of Attraction. So The System Would Flip From One Basin To Another If A Threshold (mathematically, A Bifurcation) Were Crossed. Furthermore, The Flip Could Be Irreversible. But Even If It Were Reversible, The System Could Well Display Hysteresis. The Latter Eventuality Means That In Order To Entice The System To Return To Its Original Basin Of Attraction, A Different And Possibly Costly Path Has To Be Traced. A Mistake In Management May Then Be A Lot More Costly Than Envisaged. An Example Would Be A Possible Flip Of The Gulf Stream Owing To Fresh Water Intrusion From Melting Glaciers During Global Warming. The Economics of Non-Convex Ecosystems: Introduction....Pages 1-27 Scale and Scaling in Ecological and Economic Systems....Pages 29-59 Convex Relationships in Ecosystems Containing Mixtures of Trees and Grass....Pages 61-76 Managing Systems with Non-convex Positive Feedback....Pages 77-104 The Economics of Shallow Lakes....Pages 105-126 Multiple Species Boreal Forests - What Faustmann Missed....Pages 127-148 Evaluating Projects and Assessing Sustainable Development in Imperfect Economies....Pages 149-187 Economists often assume that ecosystem and population dynamics are subject to convex, even linear processes. But research by ecosystem and population ecologists suggests that such processes are very often non-convex, for example a possible flip of the Gulf Stream due to fresh water intrusion from melting glaciers. This has dramatic implications for environmental and resource economics, since mistakes in management could prove more costly than imagined.