Can Economics Solve Pollution?
Editor’s note: Dr. Mike Walden is a William Neal Reynolds Professor and extension economist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics of N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. This article was distributed by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. There appears to be growing concern about pollution and the environment. Pollution is not a new issue. Widespread public attention began at least as early as the 1970s. But with the growth of greenhouse gases and the debate over global warming, addressing pollutants has achieved a new prominence today. Let me state one fact up front: I am not an environmental scientist, and have no expertise in evaluating debates about the environment and pollution occurring in both scientific quarters and the popular media. My approach is to say, “If global warming is happening and we want to reduce it (and, again, I’ll leave it to others to make these judgments), then can economics be useful in finding an
