Book Summary of Conflicts over Resource Ownership: The Use of Public Policy by PrivateInterests by Albert M. Church
Citation:
Conflicts over Resource Ownership: The Use of Public Policy by Private Interests, Albert M. Church, (Massachusetts: Lexington Books, 1982), 221pp.
This Book Summary written by: T.A. O'Lonergan, Conflict Research Consortium
Conflicts over Resource Ownership: The Use of Public Policy by Private
Interests will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of the
relationship between public policy and private interests. The author states
that the book "is about the competition among private interests over the
receipt and control of natural-resource revenues. It also addresses the
private interests' use of public policy. The central hypothesis is that
effective resource ownership and control are shared among many private
interests, and these arrangements are determined by historical, social,
judicial, legislative, and economic institutions."
The first chapter is an overview. The second chapter offers case studies of
energy tax and regulatory policies in the United States
and Canada. The next chapter is an analysis of competition over resource
rents and the role of the public sector. Toward that end the author
discusses why abstractions are difficult to draw from the case studies. After
consideration of the special characteristics of natural resources and
economic rent, two models of collective behavior are
offered. The fourth chapter concerns modeling natural resources.
The author examines: the relationship between economic modeling and
physical laws, economics and conservation of energy and
mass, and the elements and techniques of models. Finally, he
offers some modeling techniques.
The fifth and final chapter is an examination of the modeling of
natural resource supply and demand. This chapter begins
with a discussion of the technology of production and consideration of micro-economic
models of natural resources. The author examines a theory of
renewable resources, and empirical tests of resource prices. He also
addresses the relationship between taxes and natural resources
and tax effects on non-renewable and renewable resources.
The text is accompanied by tables and figures and a selected bibliography.
Conflicts over Resource Ownership: The Use of Public Policy by Private
Interests requires of the reader a moderate understanding of economics
and the more general topic of natural resources.
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