Geoffrey Heal

Columbia University, Columbia Business School, Faculty Member

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Valuing Ecosystem Services

Ecosystems, 2000

The value of the services provided top human societies by natural ecosystems and biogeochemical c... more The value of the services provided top human societies by natural ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles has recently been the topic of discussion and research. Here I review some of the basic economic principles necessary for understanding some of the questions that arise in this area. I argue that even with the best possible data and scientific understanding, the sense in which economists can value nature's services is limited. I also argue that valuing these services is much less important than providing incentives for their conservation, and that valuation and providing incentives for conservation are quite different. Valuation is neither necessary nor sufficient for conservation, whereas providing the right incentives is.

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Bottom Up Climate Policies

In this paper we make two points about bottom-up approaches to climate policy. First, we argue th... more In this paper we make two points about bottom-up approaches to climate policy. First, we argue that it is more productive to work with a small group of countries to establish the basis of a global climate regime than tackling the issue with all countries, as in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Secondly, we argue that negotiators should also work explicitly to encourage the development and deployment of clean technologies as a way to reduce future emissions, and suggest how this might be achieved.

Sustainable Use of Renewable Resources

Social Science Research Network, 1996

ABSTRACT We study paths which involve optimal use of a renewable resource under several alternati... more ABSTRACT We study paths which involve optimal use of a renewable resource under several alternative definitions of optimality, including the discounted utilitarian, Chichilnisky&#39;s, the Rawlsian and the green golden rule. Initially we consider an economy where the only good is the resource: subsequently, we embed the resource in a productive economy with capital accumulation. Our aim is to investigate how the alternative approaches contribute to the understanding of the issues underlying concerns about sustainable use of the earth&#39;s resources. We show that Chichilnisky&#39;s criterion has several interesting characteristics: it leads the economy to asymptote to the green golden rule (the configuration giving the highest sustainable utility level) and requires that the discount rate fall asymptotically to zero, which can be interpreted as an application to intertemporal preferences of the well-known Weber-Fechner law of physics and physiology.

Valuing Ecosystem Services

Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Oct 29, 2002

Exhaustible Resources

Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2008

Biodiversity Finance

Social Science Research Network, 2023

The Evolving International Economy

Southern Economic Journal, Apr 1, 1988

This book focuses on the main issues of trade and development, and on the attainment of the major... more This book focuses on the main issues of trade and development, and on the attainment of the major development goals generally espoused in the international community: rapid development in the Third World, sustained economic expansion in the industrial countries and the eradication of deep inequalities and of extreme poverty. It consists of four parts. The first three give an overall analysis of the world economy, with commentary and conclusions on major issues of trade and development. The fourth part provides the intuitive basis for the main results within the context of the formal models, and rigorous proofs are found in the references given to the technical literature. The analysis is descriptive, focusing on the particulars of market behaviour and tracing the ways in which markets respond to policies, in the belief that policies cannot be viewed in a vacuum, but must be confronted with the responses of the market. The interplay of domestic policies and international markets is a main feature of the authors' analysis.

The Economics of Carbon Accounting and Carbon Offsets

Social Science Research Network, 2022

I acknowledge support from Columbia Business School. I am grateful to Caroline Flammer, Bruce Ush... more I acknowledge support from Columbia Business School. I am grateful to Caroline Flammer, Bruce Usher and Gernot Wagner for valuable comments on an earlier draft. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.

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10. The Next Steps

Exhaustible Resources

The Theory of Economic Planning

Population and Development Review, Dec 1, 1975

Empathy and the Efficient Provision of Public Goods

Social Science Research Network, 2021

I acknowledge support from Columbia Business School. The views expressed herein are those of the ... more I acknowledge support from Columbia Business School. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.

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Choosing the Future: Markets, Ethics, and Rapprochement in Social Discounting

Social Science Research Network, 2021

We are grateful to Maya Eden, Marc Fleurbaey, and Christian Gollier for helpful comments. The vie... more We are grateful to Maya Eden, Marc Fleurbaey, and Christian Gollier for helpful comments. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.

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Environment and Economy—No Conflict

Columbia University Press eBooks, Dec 20, 2016

The natural world matters greatly to economic performance: the economy and the natural world are ... more The natural world matters greatly to economic performance: the economy and the natural world are strongly interdependent, and improving the natural environment improves economic performance directly. But nonetheless economic activity is seriously damaging the environment. There are four reasons for this, all connected with clearly identifiable shortcomings of our economic system – failure to charge for external costs, failure to manage common property, failure to recognize and value natural capital, and failure to properly evaluate economic performance. Subsequent chapters develop these points.

Valuing Ecosystem Services

Markets and Sustainability

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 1998

Do markets lead us to make sustainable choices? If not, why not? And what would we need to do to ... more Do markets lead us to make sustainable choices? If not, why not? And what would we need to do to remedy this? This paper takes a preliminary look at these questions. It identifies three categories of reasons why market choices may not be sustainable, related to valuation of the future, recognition of the benefits provided by environmental assets, and incorrect incentives. It gives examples of cases in which these problems have been corrected, and considers the scope for a more positive relation between market forces and conservation of the environment.

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Biodiversity Finance

Social Science Research Network, 2023

Sustainable Use of Renewable Resources

Springer eBooks, 1998

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Global Environmental Risks

We study the risks associated with the prospect of global climate change, and review the mechanis... more We study the risks associated with the prospect of global climate change, and review the mechanisms available for their efficient allocation in market economies. Risks in this field are typically unknown and often unknowable ex ante; their probabilities are endogenous and determined by economic actions; they have both collective and individual components, and they are about processes that may be irreversible. The theory of how to allocate such risks is still being developed, but a certain amount is known about insurance with unknown risks and about uncertainty and irreversibility. We indicate what is known and set out its policy implications, and provide a challenging but realistic research agenda. We show that existing theories provide a framework for evaluating policies for mitigating global climate change. How much a society should pay to mitigate global change depends on a society's discount rate, degree of risk aversion, and assessment of the relevant probabilities. As these may differ from society to society, what societies are willing to pay will vary. These differences may provide a basis for international trade in global climate risks. We argue that there is a real value to international institutional arrangements and financial markets that encourage countries to back words by deeds by making them liable to buy and sell risks associated with global climate change at the prices that their economic policies implicitly put on these risks. Contents 1 Pervasive Uncertainty 2 2 The Nature of Environmental Uncertainty 3 *To appear in Journal of Economic Perspectives. * Financial support from the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei is gratefully acknowledged by both authors, as are valuable comments on the papers on which this is based from Ken Arrow, Andrea Beltratti and Bob Solow.

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The Evolving International Economy

Population and Development Review, Jun 1, 1988

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