How well are resource prices likely to serve as indicators of natural resource scarcity?

Philip Lawn

International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2004, vol. 7, issue 4, 369-397

Abstract: It is generally believed that when a resource becomes increasingly scarce, a shadow is automatically cast in the form of a higher market price. The higher price induces substitution towards more abundant resources and the development of resource-saving technological progress. A growing number of ecological economists argue that, while resource prices adequately reflect the relative scarcity of various resource types, they are unable to reflect the absolute scarcity of either a particular resource type or the entire stock of all resources. They therefore believe resource prices cannot be used as a basis for determining the sustainable rate of resource use. In support of this emerging ecological economic position, a resource depletion model is employed under specific conditions to show that, for some considerable period of time, the price of a resource can fall even as the stock of the resource declines. Furthermore, the extent of the fall is greater if both a higher discount rate is applied and the marginal cost of resource extraction is assumed to be a function of past resource prices – a reasonable assumption given that the resource extraction process requires the use of previously extracted resources.

Keywords: absolute scarcity; relative scarcity; resource prices; sustainability; sustainable development; natural resources; ecological economics; resource use; resource depletion model. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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