THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF PUBLIC LAND USE

Federal ownership and management of the public lands have created a rent-seeking frenzy, inflated rhetoric, wasted resources, and squandered investment opportunities. The primary commodity user groups, grazers and timber harvesters, have declined in importance whereas conservationists and recreationists have gained. Still, historical use preferences and continued rent seeking have produced use entitlements that seem impervious to changing costs and demands and thus result in large wealth losses to consumers and taxpayers. Privatization of the public lands is probably politically infeasible, but simulated market processes can be used to replace political allocations and improve efficiency.Land Economics/Use,

DISCUSSION ON SOCIAL CAPITAL

Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

SOME ISSUES IN TEACHING AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS TO FOREIGN GRADUATE STUDENTS

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

THE ECONOMICS OF BOLIVIAN SELF-SUFFICIENCY IN WHEAT PRODUCTION

Crop Production/Industries,

Protein and the Pill- A Pivotal Partnership

Two fearsome possibilities preoccupy thoughtful men everywhere in the world. These worries are unique to our own age and time. Lord Russell puts it succinctly, The world is faced, at the present day, with two antithetical dangers: (a) the human race may put an end to itself by a too lavish use of H bombs; and (b) the human population of our planet may increase to the point where only a starved and miserable existence is possible, except for a minority of powedul people. Each of these dangers has its own characteristics, its own special perils, and its own possibilities for prevention. Nuclear war would bring swift and complete destruction of life as we know it. Whether or not such a war occurs, seemingly depends upon the wisdom of a few trusted leaders. On the other hand, so it is said, starvation is a gradual and agonizing phenomenon, already stealthily engulfing the world. The extent to which we endure the slow and dehumanizing destruction that is synonymous with starvation, depends on the individual decisions of literally billions of human beings. The two threats are inter-related. A world in which one-third of the people live in extravagant opulence while two-thirds live in oppressive squalor is not conducive to political sta,bility. Such a world is particularly susceptible to violence, including mass nuclear destruction. There is little question that, as a rule, man\u27s inclination towards aggressiveness declines in proportion to the spaciousness and comforts of his life

Proceedings of a Summer Institute in Water Resources: Volume II - The Economics of Water Resource Development and Conservation

Foreward: Recognizing the need for training of individuals to meet the rapidly rising problems connected with water resources development, Utah State University, with National Science Foundation support, organized a Summer Institute in Water Resources for college teachers. it was hoped that participants carefully selected from all regions of the country would receive additional insight and stimulation to improve and enlarge water resources training programs at their own institutions. Thus, the accelerated dissemination of such knowledge on a national scale could be facilitated. Realizing further that the key to a successful institute of this nature lay in the excellence of its staff, efforts were made to obtain instructors with intimate knowledge and broad experience int he subject matter area they were asked to rpesent. In nearly every case those selected willingly accepted the invitation to participate, although this meant considerable monetary sacrifice and major adjustment of busy schedules. The subject matter treated paralleled regular offerings listed in the University catalog and is considered to be central or core to a water resources planning and management training program. one course treated the philosophical, historical, institutional, political, and legal aspects of water development. The responsibility for this course was shared jointly with Cleve H. Milligan, Charles E. Corker, and Wayne D. Criddle. The second course considered the principles of water resources economics and was presented by B. Delworth Gardner. The third course dealt with concepts of water quality management and was under the direction of P. H. McGauhey. The final course was on principles and procedures of regional resources planning and was presented jointly by Aaron Wiener, W. R. Derrick Sewell, and Harvey O. Banks. Having assembled a distinguished and diversified staff to present some of the best current professional thinking in the topics suggested in the preceding paragraph, it was felt most appropriate to attempt to put their lectures into writing. A proceedings of the Institute would have considerable utility beyong the Institute itself. Hence, the instructors were encouraged to prepare written material for the proceedings and were given secretarial and other assistance to aid them. This material has been organized according to the four major courses and is issued in four comanion volumes. Clearly, this has been a prodigious effort which required Institute staff and others to go the extra mile. Special thanks and recognition are due Mrs. Dorothy Riley who not only typed the entire proceedings but also attended to many details necessary for the successfult operations of the Institute. Jay M. Bagley served as director of the Institute and assumed a general coordinating and editing role in the development of these proceedings