ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS: HOW AGRICULTURAL ECONOMISTS HELPED ADVANCE THE FIELD

In this essay we examine the coevolution and cross-fertilization of environmental and agricultural economics over the past century. We discuss the key role that agricultural economists have played in the intellectual development of environmental economics. We focus on three primary contributions: incentive design, nonmarket valuation, and joint determination. The nature of these contributions is illustrated using specific examples from the literature. Agricultural economists ’ tendency to focus on applied problems has enriched and broadened both the academic debates and the policy advice provided by economists. Key words: environmental economics, history of economic thought, incentive design, nonmarket valuation, joint determination. JEL Codes: Q2, Q5. “The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man.”Thomas Malthus “Yes, I am the Lorax who speaks for the trees, which you seem to be chopping as fast as you please. But I’m also in charge of the brown Bar-ba-loots, who played in the shade in their Bar-ba-loot suits and happily lived eating truffula fruits. Now