Modelling complex systems such as multiple-use reservoirs can be challenging. A legitimate question for scientists and modellers is how best to model their management under uncertain rainfall. This paper studies whether it is worth using a stochastic model that requires more effort than a much...

Buying environmental services from private landholders using auction mechanisms often involves repeated multi-unit procurement-type auctions. These can either be target-constrained or budget-constrained. Most of the theoretical literature has focused on the former, whereas government agencies...

The problem of how to discount values in the far future is reviewed, and shown to lead down a blind alley. An alternative is proposed that allows long term consequences to be addressed by decisions using a relatively short term time horizon. A simple model investigating the optimal containment...