Ambivalence of joint products

Abstract

In the previous chapter the notion of ambivalent joint production has been introduced and discussed in detail. However, the question of what makes the joint outputs as far as their character is concerned a good or a bad has only been answered in a very general and, thus, rather abstract way. In parts A and B of this work when speaking of wanted or unwanted outputs it has always been assumed that the character of outputs is somehow immediately obvious. Yet, this is a gross simplification. Consider once again the example of sulfuric acid, presented in section 2.4. Is sulfuric acid wanted or unwanted, that is, a good or a bad? The example suggests that the answer is far from being immediately obvious, but rather depends on many aspects. For example, preferences for certain products, resource endowment, conditions of production and available technologies, perception and valuation of environmental problems, as well as the actual amounts produced at one point in time all have an influence on the valuation of sulfuric acid. As a matter of history, as the various determinants have changed over time, so has the valuation of sulfuric acid. At some times, the substance has been primarily perceived as a bad which is damaging to the natural environment, and at other times sulfuric acid has been considered as a scarce factor of production for the chemical industry.