Economics - Section 4 Flashcards
(200 cards)
What characterizes common property as “tragedies of the commons”?
when there is no restraint on access (non-excludability) and the resources of the property are overused (rival) and depleted because it is assumed there is no structure of norms, obligations, and expectations that keeps management in place
Why do critics of collective action argue that it [collective action] cannot work?
because of the free rider problem and difficulties of monitoring and enforcing rules and obligations.
What is the expression that is used to determine how much something in the future is worth today (its present value)?
Present Value= 1/(1+r)^t * Future Value -r is the discount rate -t is the length of time I have to wait from today to get it back
What is often used to explain how an emphasis on present choices dominates our concern for the future? In other words, what explains the obligations that present generations might/might not have to direct the decisions of those who are yet to be born?
time value of money
What are the three issues the USAD Economics Resource Guide focuses on in regards to the damages causes by climate change?
1). the magnitude of damages associated with rising global temperatures 2). the calculated social costs of those damages (specifically of carbon) 3). the uncertainty surrounding these estimates
True or False? It can be concluded that humans’ current levels of consumption and resource extraction are sustainable.
False; it is not sustainable as the associated negative externalities and public bads (including greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere) suggest that current climate conditions may be headed towards an economic and ecological crisis
Define cost effectiveness
achieving a specific goal or objective at the least cost
What is the principal/agent problem? Provide an example as well.
the information and monitoring problems faced by a principal (individual/bodies in charge) seeking to oversee many agents (those being monitored) due to higher levels of jurisdiction. For example, as the area of the city that the mayor is trying to oversee it becomes harder to do it as efficiently compared to if the area was smaller. This is because the free rider problem increases as the familiarity between the parties declined; hard to know who is contributing and who is not
What are examples presented in the resource guide collective action succeeding?
groups organizing to confront aggression such as during WWII or in Ukraine after the 2022 Russian invasion
What happens to the value making income in the future worth a lot less as the denominator in the discount rate equation (Present Value= 1/(1+r)^t * Future Value) increases?
it makes the income in the future worth a lot less
What happens if there are high discount rates (r) and long-term future estimates (t) will do what to the present value in regards to the equation: Present Value= 1/(1+r)^t * Future Value
shrink the present value
In regards to the equation: Present Value= 1/(1+r)^t * Future Value, what does it mean if the discount rate (r) equals zero?
future income and consumption is valued just as much as at the present, this reduces the denominator to 1, meaning that we do not discount the future at all but it is given equal weight with the present
In regards to the equation: Present Value= 1/(1+r)^t * Future Value, what does it mean if the discount rate (r) is less than 0 (r<0)?
this means that the future is valued more than the present and we are willing to forgo present consumption, meaning the the discount rate is negative
Which two countries estimate that their SCC is close to zero?
Ukraine and Poland
Rich countries will face more natural disasters & burdens due to climate change. T/F
False
Climate is like the example of the economic house…
Shared obligations, if 1 person doesn’t clean the house looks messy
What is the free rider problem?
People can use public goods without paying for them
What is the SCC?
Social Cost of Carbon. How much damage in $ is each ton of carbon
How many years have climate negotiations (internationally) been going on?
40 years
What is multilateralism?
multiple countries & governments joining to pursue a goal
“While the trading system relies on commercial interdependence, the climate commons depends on _______”
ecological interdependence
What is a “GEO”
Global Environment Organization. A proposed institution for putting regulations on climate change on a global scale. dating as far back as the 1970s, bit still never put in place.
Public goods (& bads) are non___ & non___.
non-rival & non-excludable
what city established the first binding emission reduction target to limit greehouse gas emissions in 1997?
Kyoto, Japan