The connection between humans and the earth’s natural resources is a topic of vital interest. Concern once centered on whether there were sufficient supplies of natural resources to accommodate the rising demands of growing economies; a newer concern is whether those growing economies will undermine the linkages between humans and the earth’s critical ecological endowments. It is essential to understand the reciprocity of how human decisions affect resources and how resources affect humans. Natural resource economics is one way of framing and analyzing choices about the conservation and use of natural resources made daily by individuals, communities, and nations. The focus of the text is on natural resource valuation, economic incentives, and the institutional arrangements that will produce desired collective outcomes.

The fourth edition of this acclaimed text presents the analytical framework of economics in easy-to-understand descriptions for readers who have not yet been exposed to economics. The first nine chapters offer a lucid introduction to fundamental economic principles and their application to questions about natural resource use. Ten topical chapters address specific natural resources. The final two chapters examine natural resource issues encountered in developing countries and the impacts of globalization on the utilization and conservation of natural resources. Topics new to this edition include: equity issues in natural resources decisions, existence value of wildlife, technological change, natural capital, payment for environmental services, rare earths, food security, and collective property rights.