Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Inter-Temporal Ethics, Modern Capital Theory and the Economics of Sustainable Forest Management

  • Chapter
Economics, Sustainability, and Natural Resources

Part of the book series: Sustainability, Economics, and Natural Resources ((SENR,volume 1))

Abstract

In this exploratory chapter, I examine how the disciplines of forest economics, capital theory and ethics, insofar as they pertain to decisions taken over time, each provide a lens with which to view the other. More specifically, I read texts of Kant, Laslett, Bourdieu, Cowen-Parfitt and Mitra-Wan-Ray-Roy and attempt to place the general theory of inter-temporal resource allocation within a larger conversation on intergenerational justice taking place in political and sociological theory. I thereby seek to develop a vocabulary for exploring alternative possibilities for social, political and communal bonding by giving meaning to terms such as sustainability, efficiency and equity for the ‘ optimal’ allocation of common or environmental (measurable or non-measurable) resources over time.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Aghion, P., & Howitt, P. (1998). Endogenous growth theory, Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, F. J. (1976). Control theory and the optimal forest rotation. Forest Science, 22, 242–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arrow, K. J. (2000). Observations on social capital and economic performance. In P. Dasgupta, & I. Sirageldin. (Eds.). Social capital: A multifaceted perspective (pp. 6–10). Washington, D. C.: The World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arrow, K. J., & Kurz, M. (1970). Public investment, the rate of return and optimal fiscal policy. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atsumi, H. (1965). Neoclassical growth and the efficient program of capital accumulation. Review of Economic Studies, 32, 127–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aumann, R. J. (1965). Review of ‘optimal capital adjustment’ by K. J. Arrow. Mathematical Reviews, 28(3876)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird, C. (1999). The myth of liberal individualism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1983). Ökonomisches kapital, kulturelles kapital, soziales kapital. In K. Reinhard (Ed.), Soziale ungleichheiten (pp. 183–198). (Soziale Welt, Sonderheft 2) (Goettingen: Otto Schartz & Co.). English translation available as, Forms of capital, in J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education. New York: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L.J.D. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brock, W.A. (1970). On existence of weakly maximal programmes in a multi-sector economy. Review of Economic Studies, 37, 275–280.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Cowen, T. (1992). Consequentialism implies a zero discount rate. In P. Laslett, J.S., Fishkin (Eds.), Justice between age groups and generation (pp. 162–168). New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowen, T., & Parfit, D. (1992). Against the social discount rate. In P. Laslett, J.S., Fishkin (Eds.), Justice between age groups and generation (pp. 144–161). New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dasgupta, P., & Sirageldin, I. (2000). Social capital: A multifaceted perspective. Washington, D. C.: The World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dasgupta, S., & Mitra, T. (n. d.) Optimal policy function in the forestry model: An example. mimeo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debreu, G. (1959). Theory of Value, New York: John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Derbyshire, J. (2004). Prime obsession. London: Penguin Books Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faustmann, M. (1849). Translated into English as “Calculation of the value which forestry lands and immature stands possess for forestry. In M. Gane (Ed.), Martin Faustmann and the evolution of discounted cash flow (pp. 27–55). Oxford: Comonwealth Forestry Institute..

    Google Scholar 

  • Gale, D. (1967). On optimal development in a multi-sector economy. Review of Economic Studies, 34, 1–18.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Halmos, P.R. (1990). Has progress in mathematics slowed down? American Mathematical Monthly, 97, 561–589.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Harrod, R.F. (1948). Towards a dynamic economics. London: MacMillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haines, W.M. (1982). The psychoeconomics of human needs. Journal of Behavioral Economics, 11, 97–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hegel, G.W.F. (1964). Political writings, translated by T. M. Knox. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegel, G.W.F. (1967). Elements of the philosophy of right. Translated by T. M. Knox. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huxley, T.H. (1894). Evolution and e thics. London: Macmillan Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kant, S. (1999). Endogenous rate of time preference, traditional communities and sustainable forest management. Journal of Social and Economic Development, II, 65–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kant, S. (2000). A dynamic approach to forest regimes in developing economics. Ecological Economics, 32, 287–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kant, S. (2003a). Extending the boundaries of forest economics. Forest Policy and Economics, 5, 39–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kant, S. (2003b). Choices of ecosystem capital without discounting and prices. Environmental Monitoring and Assessments, 86, 105–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kant, S., & Berry, A. (2001). A theoretical model of optimal forest resource regimes in developing economics. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, 157, 331–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kemp, M.C., & Moore, E.G. (1979). Biological capital theory. Economics Letters, 4, 141–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keynes, J.M. (1930). Economic possibilities for our grandchildren. In J.M. Keynes, (Ed.), Essays in Persuasion (pp. 358–373). New York: W. W. Norton and Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M.A. (2002). Trust as a commodity and on the grammar of trust. Journal of Banking and Finance, 26, 1719–1766. An erratum (publisher’s mistakes) in 27 (2003) 773.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M.A. (2003). On the ethics of (economic) theorizing. Presented at an American Statistical Association panel on ethics at the JSM Meetings held on August 3–7, 2003 in San Francisco, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M.A. (2004a). Self-interest, self-deception and the ethics of commerce. The Journal of Business Ethics, 52, 189–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M.A. (2004b). Composite photography and statistical prejudice: Levy-Peart and Marshall on the theorist and the theorized. European Journal of Political Economy, 20, 23–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M.A., & Mitra, T. (2002a). On choice of technique in the Robinson-Solow-Srinivasan model. International Journal of Economic Theory, forthcoming.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M.A., & Mitra, T. (2002b). Optimal growth in a two-sector model without discounting: A geometric investigation. Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M.A., & Mitra, T. (2002c). Optimal growth under irreversible investment: The von Neumann and Mckenzie facets. Mimeo, Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M.A., & Mitra, T. (2003a). Optimal growth under irreversible investment: A continuous time analysis. Mimeo, Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M.A., & Mitra, T. (2003b). Undiscounted optimal growth under irreversible investment: A synthesis of dynamic programing and the value-loss approach. Mimeo, Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M.A., & Mitra, T. (2004). Topological chaos in the Robinson-Solow-Srinivasan model. Mimeo, Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koopmans, T.C. (1965). On the concept of optimal economic growth. Pontificae Academiae Scientiarum Scripta Varia, 28, 225–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koopmans, T.C. (1967). Inter-temporal distribution and “optimal” aggregate economic growth. In W. Fellner et al. (Eds.), Ten economic studies in the tradition of Irving Fisher (pp. 95–126). New York: John Wiley and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laslett, P. (1979). The conversation between Generations. In P. Laslett, J.S. Fishkin (Eds.), Philosophy, politics and society, New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laslett, P. (1987). The character of family history, its limitations and the conditions for its proper pursuit. Journal of Family History, 12, 263–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laslett, P. (1992). Is there a generational contract? In P. Laslett, J.S. Fishkin (Eds.), Justice between age groups and generations (pp 24–47). New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laslett, P., & Fishkin, J. S. (Eds.) (1979) Philosophy, politics and society. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laslett, P., & Fishkin, J. S. (Eds.) (1992) Justice between age groups and generations. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mouffe, C. (1993). The return of the political. London: Verso Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Majumdar, M., Mitra, T., & Nishimura, K. (2000). Optimization and chaos. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKenzie, L.W. (1968). Accumulation programs of maximum utility and the von Neumann facet. In J.N. Wolfe (Ed.), Value, capital and growth (pp. 353–383). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKenzie, L.W. (1976). Turnpike theory, the 1974 Fisher-Schultz lecture. Econometrica, 43, 841–865.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • McKenzie, L.W. (1983). Turnpike theory, discounted utility, and the von Neumann facet. Journal of Economic Theory, 30, 330–352.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • McKenzie, L.W. (1986). Optimal economic growth, Turnpike theorems and comparative dynamics. In K.J. Arrow, M. Intrilligator (Eds.), Handbook of mathematical economics, Vol. 3 (pp. 1281–1355). New York: North-Holland Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitra, T., & Wan, H. Jr. (1985). Some theoretical results on the economics of forestry. Review of Economic Studies, 52, 263–282.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Mitra, T., & Wan, H. Jr. (1986). On the Faustmann solution to the forest management problem. Journal of Economic Theory, 40, 229–249.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Mitra, T., Ray, D., & Roy, R. (1991). The economics of orchards: An exercise in point-input flow-output capital theory. Journal of Economic Theory, 53, 12–50.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Mitra, T. (2000). Introduction to dynamic optimization theory. In M. Majumdar, T. Mitra, Nishimura, K. (Eds.), Optimization and Chaos (pp. 31–108). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peart, S. J. (2000). Irrationality and inter-temporal choice in early neoclassical thought. Canadian Journal of Economics, 33, 175–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radner, R. (1961). Paths of economic growth that are optimal with regard to final states. Review of Economic Studies, 28, 98–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramsey, F. (1928). A mathematical theory of savings. Economic Journal, 38, 543–559.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rawls, J. (1999). A theory of justice, Cambridge: The Belknap Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawls, J. (2001). Justice as fairness: A restatement. Cambridge: The Belknap Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed, W.J. (1984). The effects of the risk of fire on the optimal rotation of a forest. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 11, 180–190.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Rhees, R. (1965). Some developments in Wittgenstein’s view of ethics. Philosophical Review, 74, 17–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samuelson, P.A. (1958). An exact consumption-loan model of interest, with or without the social contrivance of money. Journal of Political Economy, 66, 467–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samuelson, P.A. (1965). A catenary turnpike theorem involving consumption and the golden rule. American Economic Review, 55, 486–496.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samuelson, P.A. (1976). Economics of forestry in an evolving society. Economic Inquiry, 14, 466–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samuelson, P.A., & Solow, R.M. (1956). A complete capital model involving heterogeneous capital goods. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70, 537–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandel, M.J. (1998). Liberalism and the limits of justice (2nd Edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solow, R.M. (1974). Intergenerational equity and exhaustible resources. Review of Economic Studies, 41,Supplement, 29–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solow, R.M. (2000). Notes on social capital and economic performance. In P. Dasgupta, I. Sirageldin (Eds.), Social capital: A multifaceted perspective (pp. 6–10). Washington, D. C.: The World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stokey, N.L., & Lucas, R.E. Jr. (1989). Recursive methods in economic dynamics. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Neumann, J. (1935-36). Über ein Ökonomisches Gleichungs-System und eine Verallgemeinerung des Brouwerschen Fixpunktsatzes. In K. Menger (Ed.), Ergebnisse eines Mathematischen Kolloquiums, No. 8. Translated as “A model of general economic equilibrium. Review of Economic Studies, 13, 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Weizsäcker, C. C. (1965). Existence of optimal programs of accumulation for an infinite time horizon. Review of Economic Studies, 32, 85–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan Jr., H.Y. (1978). A generalized Wicksellian capital model: An application to forestry. In V. Smith (Ed.), Economics of natural and environmental resources (pp. 141–153). New York: Gordon-Breach.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wan Jr., H.Y. (1989). Optimal evolution of tree-age distribution for a tree farm. In C. Castillo-Chavez et al. (Eds.), Mathematical approaches to ecological and environmental problems (pp. 82–99). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wan Jr., H.Y. (1993). A note on boundary paths. In R. Becker et al. (Eds.), General equilibrium, growth and trade II, (pp. 411–426). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wan Jr., H.Y. (1994). Revisiting the Mitra-Wan tree farm. International Economic Review, 35, 193–198.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA

    M. Ali Khan

Authors
  1. M. Ali Khan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Canada

    Shashi Kant

  2. Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, Canada

    R. Albert Berry

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2005 Springer

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Khan, M.A. (2005). Inter-Temporal Ethics, Modern Capital Theory and the Economics of Sustainable Forest Management. In: Kant, S., Berry, R.A. (eds) Economics, Sustainability, and Natural Resources. Sustainability, Economics, and Natural Resources, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3518-7_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation