environmental property rights

Question 1

what are property rights?

Answer 1

property rights refers to a bundle of entitlements defining the owners rights, privileges and limitations for use of the resource`

Question 2

what are the purpose of property rights?

Answer 2

These rights are designed to promote the protectionand conservation of natural resources, and to ensurethat they are used for the benefit of society as a whole.

Question 3

what is an ancient example of enviromental property rights?

Answer 3

the magna carta in 1215

Question 4

how are current property rights in england determined?

Answer 4

Current property rights in England are determined by acomplex set of laws and regulations that govern theacquisition, use, and disposal of property.

Question 5

what are the three main characteristics of an efficient property rights structures?

Answer 5

1. Exclusivity—All benefits and costs accrued as a result of owning and using the resources should accrue to the owner, and only to the owner, either directly or indirectly by sale to others.
2. Transferability—All property rights should be transferable from one owner to another in a voluntary exchange.
3. Enforceability—Property rights should be secure from involuntary seizure or encroachment by others

Question 6

what is the incentive effect that arises due to well defined property rights?

Answer 6

there is an incentive to use their resources efficiently as a decline in the value of a resource represents a personal loss. for example a farmer will have the incentive to fertilise and irragate there fields to boost production and income

Question 7

what is an externality?

Answer 7

An externality occurs when an individual’s (or a firm’s) well-being is affected by the actions of another individual (or firm)

Question 8

what is a postive externality?

Answer 8

Positive externality: This occurs when the consumption orproduction of a good causes a benefit to a third party.

Question 9

what is a negative externality?

Answer 9

Negative externality: This occurs when the consumption orproduction of a good causes a harm to a third party.

Question 10

what are the 4 types of property rights?

Answer 10

1. Private Property: Private entities own and control the property.
2. State-property regimes: The government owns and controls the property.
3. Communal-property regimes: Jointly owned & controlled by a specified group of co-owners.
4. Open-access regimes or res nullius (i.e., nobody’s thing): No one owns and exercises control over the resources.

Question 11

what are the problems of state property regimes and why?

Answer 11

Problems with both efficiency and sustainability can arise in state property regimes when the incentives of the bureaucrats who implement and/or make the rules for resources use diverge from the collective interest.

Question 12

What are the differences between communal and open access resources?

Answer 12

In communal property resources the rights to the resources are well defined, but owned by a number of individual over the same area.
Whereas open access is completely non-exclusive. No one can be prevented from using or exploiting an open access resources.

Question 13

who is the owner of private property?

Answer 13

the individual

Question 14

who is the owner of state property?

Answer 14

the state

Question 15

who is the owner of communal property?

Answer 15

the community

Question 16

who is the owner of common access?

Answer 16

nobody/everybody

Question 17

what are the rights of the private property?

Answer 17

all socially acceptable uses

Question 18

what are the rights of the state property?

Answer 18

they determine the rules for use

Question 19

what are the rights for the communal property?

Answer 19

they can exclude non members of the community

Question 20

what are the rights for the common access?

Answer 20

to capture the maximum benefits

Question 21

what are the duties of private property?

Answer 21

to avoid illegal use of the property

Question 22

what are the duties of state property?

Answer 22

to maintain the social objectives

Question 23

what are the duties of communal property?

Answer 23

maintence and limited use

Question 24

what are the duties of the common access?

Answer 24

no duties

Question 25

how is the total surplus measured?

Answer 25

it is measured as the vertical difference between the total revenue curve and the total cost curve

Question 26

how is the total surplus measured?

Answer 26

it is measured as the vertical difference between the total revenue curve and the total cost curve

Question 27

what is the problem of the tragedy of the commons

Answer 27

Overuse of, and underinvestment in, common property resources

Question 28

what is the traditional economic analysis solution to the tragedy of the commons?

Answer 28

privatisation: small farmers can benefit from ownership. larger firms can generate local employment

Question 29

what is the problem with the traditional solution to the tragedy of the commons?

Answer 29

the community may lose the benefits of the common resource and they may not be fully compensated

Question 30

what are the two components of biological diversity?

Answer 30

1- the amount of genetic variability among individuals within a single species
2- the number of species within a community of organisms

Question 31

what is the trend in biological diversity?

Answer 31

there is considerable evidence that biological diversity is decreasing

Question 32

why is genetic diversity important?

Answer 32

Genetic diversity, critical to species survival in the natural world, has also proved to be important in the development of new crops and livestock. Because of the interdependence of species within ecological communities, any particular species may have a value to the community far beyond its intrinsic value

Question 33

can we rely soley on the private sector to produce the efficient amount of public goods, such as biological diversity?

Answer 33

no

Question 34

what is a rainforest?

Answer 34

A rainforest is an area of tall trees and a high amount of rainfall. Rainforests are Earth’s oldest living ecosystems

Question 35

how much of the worlds plant and animal species live in the rainforests?

Answer 35

More than half of the world’s plant and animal species—even though they coverjust 6% of Earth’s surface

Question 36

what is the importance of rainforests?

Answer 36

there is a rich biodiversity which is important to wellbeing of us and the planet. they help regulate our climate and provide us with products such as tropical woods and fruits. they maintain the worlds water cycle. plants can be used in the creation of steriods, muscle relaxants and insecticides and also cure cancer

Question 37

what are the local and global costs of the destruction of the rainforests>

Answer 37

rainforests loss contributes to global warming due to rises in CO2 and there will also be a loss of biodiversity as habitats become destroyed

Question 38

how can we prevent the destruction of the rainforests?

Answer 38

sustainable management of rainforests, we could provide funds , debt relief to help enhance biodiversity and we can support for forest preservation as a climate change mitigation

Question 39

what is asymmetric information?

Answer 39

One or more parties have more information than the others, theinformation distribution is said to be asymmetric. It distorts the market.

Question 40

what can be a source of inefficiency outside of economic institutions?

Answer 40

there could be government failure where special interest groups use the political process to engage in rent seeking activities. they could also act without full information so establishing inefficient policies

Question 41

what is rent seeking?

Answer 41

Rent seeking is the use of resources in lobbying and other activities directed at securing legislation that results in more profitable outcomes for those finding this activity.

Question 42

what are the forms of rent seeking?

Answer 42

Producers can seek protection from competitive pressures brought by imports or can seek price floors to hold prices above the efficient levels.
Consumers can seek price ceilings on goods or special subsidies to transfer part of their costs to the general body of taxpayers

Question 43

what are three possible ways to achieve efficiency?

Answer 43

private negotiation (coase theorem)
judicial remedies
regulation by the legistrative and executive organs of the government

Question 44

how does the judicial remedies achieve enviromental efficiency?

Answer 44

The court system can respond to environmental conflicts by imposing either property rules or liability rules.

Question 45

what is the issue with a corrective mechanism that involves high transaction costs?

Answer 45

If these transaction costs are high enough, and the surplus to be derived from correcting the inefficiency is small enough,then it is best simply to live with the inefficiency