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This book presents a new economic theory developed from physical and biological principles. It explains how technology, social systems and economic values are intimately related to resources. Many people have recognized that mainstream (neoclassical) economic theories are not consistent with physical laws and often not consistent with empirical patterns, but most feel that economic activities are too complex to be described by a simple and coherent mathematical theory. While social systems are indeed complex, all life systems, including social systems, satisfy two principles. First, all systems need to extract resources from the external environment to compensate for their consumption. Second, for a system to be viable, the amount of resource extraction has to be no less than the level of consumption. From these two principles, we derive a quantitative theory of major factors in economic activities, such as fixed cost, variable cost, discount rate, uncertainty and duration. The mathematical theory enables us to systematically measure the effectiveness of different policies and institutional structures at varying levels of resource abundance and cost. The theory presented in this book shows that there do not exist universally optimal policies or institutional structures. Instead, the impacts of different policies or social structures have to be measured within the context of existing levels of resource abundance. As the physical costs of extracting resources rise steadily, many policy assumptions adopted in mainstream economic theories, and workable in times of cheap and abundant energy supplies and other resources, need to be reconsidered. In this rapidly changing world, the theory presented here provides a solid foundation for examining the long-term impacts of today's policy decisions

Transaction cost theory and application tells us that when buyers and sellers in a market incur transaction costs, intermediaries may become involved. Specifically, intermediaries influence the cause of the transaction costs to buyers and sellers such that transaction costs are reduced. In this paper we assess if and how this occurs for a number of case study government created and private emergent intermediaries in Australian environmental offset markets. We find that the causes of transaction costs to buyers and sellers in offset markets - asset specificity, uncertainty and transaction frequency are influenced downwards by intermediaries. The degree of influence depends on the nature of the good traded in the offset market. We also assessed if the public intermediaries studied were operating in the offset markets to reduce the incidence of probity hazard (poor transactions) from private intermediaries. We found that this was not the case.

This thesis comprises four empirical essays on environmental and development economics. In the first chapter, we examine to what extent individual and contextual level factors influence individuals to contribute financially to prevent environmental pollution. We find that rich people, individuals with higher education, as well as those who possess post-materialist values are more likely to be concerned about environmental pollution. We also observe the country in which individuals live matter in their willingness to contribute. More precisely, we find democracy and government stability reduce individuals' intention to donate to prevent environmental damage mainly in developed countries. The second chapter deals with the relation between economic growth and environmental degradation by focusing on the issue of whether the inverted U-shaped relation exist. The study discloses no evidence for the U-shaped relation. However, the empirical result points toward a non-linear relationship between environmental degradation and economic growth, that is, emissions tend to rise rapidly in the early stages with economic growth, and then emissions continue to increase but a lower rate in the later stages. The third chapter investigates the long-run as well as the causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in a group of Sub-Saharan Africa. The result discovers the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between clean energy consumption and economic growth. Furthermore, the short-run and the long-run dynamics indicate unidirectional Granger causality running from clean energy consumption to economic growth without any feedback effects. The last chapter of this thesis concerns with convergence of emissions across Canadian provinces. The study determines convergence clubs better characterizes Canadian's emissions. In other words, we detect the existence of segmentation in emissions across Canadian provinces. ; Cette thèse comporte quatre essais et porte sur les questions fondamentales sur la relation entre l'environnement et le développement économique. Le premier chapitre cherche à identifier les déterminants individuels et contextuels qui affectent la volonté de contribuer des gens à la lutte contre la pollution environnementale. Nos résultats révèlent que les individus riches, les personnes éduquées ainsi que les personnes possédant des valeurs post-matérialistes sont plus susceptibles d'être préoccupées par la pollution environnementale. On remarque que la caractéristique du pays de ces individus affecte leur volonté à contribuer. Ainsi, dans les pays à forte démocratie avec une forte stabilité gouvernementale, les individus sont réticents à faire des dons pour prévenir les dommages environnementaux. Le deuxième chapitre examine la relation entre la croissance économique et la dégradation de l'environnement en s'interrogeant sur la relation U inversée de Kuznets. Nos résultats empiriques ne révèlent aucune preuve de ladite relation. Cependant, nous notons l'existence d'une relation non linéaire entre la croissance économique et la dégradation de l'environnement. Les émissions ont tendance à augmenter un rythme plus rapide dans les premiers stades de la croissance économique puis dans les dernière étapes, cette hausse persiste mais à un rythme plus lent. Le troisième chapitre étudie la relation de causalité de long terme entre la consommation d'énergie propre et la croissance économique dans un groupe de pays de l'Afrique subsaharienne. Le résultat révèle l'existence d'une relation d'équilibre à long terme entre la consommation d'énergie propre et la croissance économique. En outre, la dynamique de court terme et de long terme indiquent une relation de causalité à la Granger unidirectionnelle de la consommation d'énergie propre vers la croissance économique sans aucun effet rétroactif. Le dernier chapitre de cette thèse cherche à investiguer sur la convergence des émissions de gaz entre les provinces canadiennes. L'étude montre que les émissions de gaz des provinces canadiennes sont caractérisées des convergences de clubs. En d'autres termes, on détecte l'existence d'une segmentation des émissions entre les provinces canadiennes.

Large-scale environmental programs generally commit substantial societal resources, making the evaluation of their actual effects on the relevant outcomes imperative. As the example of the subsidization of energy-saving appliances illustrates, much of the applied environmental economics literature has yet to confront the problem of proper attribution of effects to underlying causes on a convincing methodological basis. This paper argues that recent results in the econometrics and statistics literature on program evaluation could be utilized to advance considerably in this context. In particular, the construction of a credible counterfactual situation is at the heart of the formal statistical evaluation problem. Even when controlled experiments are not a viable option, appropriate approaches might succeed where traditional empirical strategies fail to uncover the effects of environmental interventions.

Large-scale environmental programs generally commit substantial societal resources, making the evaluation of their actual effects on the relevant outcomes imperative. As the example of the subsidization of energy-saving appliances illustrates, much of the applied environmental economics literature has yet to confront the problem of proper attribution of effects to underlying causes on a convincing methodological basis. This paper argues that recent results in the econometrics and statistics literature on program evaluation could be utilized to advance considerably in this context. In particular, the construction of a credible counterfactual situation is at the heart of the formal statistical evaluation problem. Even when controlled experiments are not a viable option, appropriate approaches might succeed where traditional empirical strategies fail to uncover the effects of environmental interventions.

Globalization and Environmental Challenges' pose new security dangers and concerns. In this reference book on global security thinking, 92 authors from five continents and many disciplines, from science and practice, assess the global reconceptualization of security triggered by the end of the Cold War, globalization and manifold impacts of global environmental change in the early 21st century. In 10 parts, 75 chapters: address the theoretical, philosophical, ethical and religious and spatial context of security; discuss the relationship between security, peace, development and environment; re

Part 1. Preliminaries -- Chapter 1. Strategic Locations -- Chapter 2. Sources: Artefacts -- Chapter 3. Sources: Documents -- Chapter 4. Post-war Time Shift -- Part Two: Localities -- Chapter 5. Chalk Downs -- Chapter 6. Heathland -- Chapter 7. Lot Meads -- Chapter 8. Drove Roads -- Chapter 9. Colonising the Hill Country -- Chapter 10. Parkland -- Chapter 11. Resources: Fodder -- Chapter 12. Resources: Wool & Wood -- Chapter 13. Conclusions.

I. Overall Concepts of Soil Quality, Sustainable Development and Environmental Security; Synopsis and Overview -- Soil, Sustainability and Security; the Importance of Ecosystem Integrity -- Soil Quality in Relation to the Concepts of Multifunctionality and Sustainable Development -- II. Soil Quality Studies in Central and Eastern European Countries; Synopsis and Overview -- The Heavy Metals and Sulphur Status of Agricultural Soils in Poland -- Organic Contaminants in Agricultural Soils in Central and East European Countries as Compared to West European Countries; Example of PAHs -- Quality and Contamination of Agricultural Soils in Hungary as Indicated by Environmental Monitoring and Risk Assessment -- Contamination and Degradation of Soils in the Czech Republic — Contemporary and Future State -- The Present Status of the Soil Environment in Russia -- III. Studies Emphasizing some Western Examples of Management Practices and Strategies Relating to Agricultural Sustainability and Environmental Security; Synopsis and Overview -- Agro-Environmental Aspects of Land Disposal of Industrial Wastes -- Long-Term Field Experiments and Implications for Soil Quality Assessment with Respect to Organic Contaminants; The Significance of Sewage Sludge Applied to Agricultural Land -- Organic Farming on Large Farms with Special Reference to Eastern Germany; Management strategies, environmental effects and economic aspects -- Minimum Tillage Technology as an Alternative to Traditional Systems: Environmental Implications and their Relevance to Poland and other CEES -- Soil Physical Quality and The Effects of Management -- Herbicide Management to Maintain Environmental Quality; Lessons to be Learned from North American Herbicide Management Practice -- Controlling Animal Waste Management in Denmark as Related to Soil and Water Quality -- The use of Soil Data to Predict Environmental Sensitivity to Pollution -- IV. Management Practices Relating to Agricultural Sustainability and Environmental Security, Emphasizing Examples from Central and Eastern Europe; Synopsis and Overview -- Impact of Management Practices on Soil Quality in CEE Countries with Particular Reference to Poland -- Application of Sludges for Remediation of Contaminated Soil Environment -- Past, Present and Future Status of N-Fertilization Policies in Hungary -- Soil Tillage Systems Applied in Russia to Prevent Soil Erosion and Degradation -- A Mechanism for the Self-Regulation of Fertility in Ukrainian Chernozems -- Conservation and Non-Plough Systems of Crop Production in Ukraine with Increased Reproduction of Soil Fertility -- An Erosion Control System for Sustainable Land use in a Lithuanian Catchment -- Rehabilitation of Acid Soils by Liming and Longterm Manurial Treatment -- Interacting Effects of Liming, Fertilization and Plant Breeding in some Lithuanian Soils in Relation to Environmental Protection -- V. Socio-Economic Aspects of Agricultural Sustainability and Environmental Security in Central and East European Countries; Synopsis and Overview -- Appropriate Agricultural Policies to Sustain Agriculture in the Central and Eastern European Countries -- Future of Polish Agriculture: Possibilities and Problems -- Opportunities for Sustainable Agriculture in the CEECs with Particular Emphasis on Poland -- Assessments of Environmental Policy Measures: A Farm Approach -- VI. Conclusions and Recommendations -- List of Workshop Participants -- Coloured Plates.

The economies located in East, South and Southeast Asia have witnessed an interesting growth-sustainability trade-off over the last decades. While growth considerations have paved ways for deepened ties with growing trade-investment waves and increasing population pressure necessitated exploitation of hitherto unutilized natural resources, focus on environmental sustainability has been a recent consideration. The growth impetus still playing a key role in these economies, it becomes imperative that the countries effectively address the key sustainability concerns, e.g. air and water pollution,