Economic Analysis of Social Common Capital [Hardcover]

This 2005 book analyzes how natural resources, social infrastructure, and institutions might be optimally sustained.This book introduces an analytical framework in which economic implications of social common capital are fully examined and explore the conditions under which the intertemporal allocation of scarce resources, including both social common capital and private capital, is dynamically optimum or sustainable from the social point of view.This book introduces an analytical framework in which economic implications of social common capital are fully examined and explore the conditions under which the intertemporal allocation of scarce resources, including both social common capital and private capital, is dynamically optimum or sustainable from the social point of view.Social common capital provides members of society with those services and institutional arrangements that are crucial in maintaining human and cultural life. The term social common capital is comprised of three categories: natural capital, social infrastructure, and institutional capital. Natural capital consists of all natural environment and natural resources including the earths atmosphere. Social infrastructure consists of roads, bridges, public transportation systems, electricity, and other public utilities. Institutional capital includes hospitals, educational institutions, judicial and police systems, public administrative services, financial and monetary institutions, and cultural capital. This book attempts to modify and extend the theoretical premises of orthodox economic theory to make them broad enough to analyze the economic implications of social common capital. It further aims to find the institutional arrangements and policy measures that will bring about the optimal state of affairs in which the natural and institutional components are blended together harmoniously to realize the sustainable state as suggested by John Stuart Mill.1. Fisheries, forestry, and agriculture in theli