We extend Brander-Taylor's model of development on Easter Island by adding a resource subsistence requirement to people's preferences, and a conservation incentive in the form of a revenue-neutral, ad valorem tax on resource consumption. Adding subsistence improves plausibility; makes overshoot...

We extend the Brander-Taylor model of population and resource development in an isolated society by adding a resource subsistence requirement to people's preferences. This improves plausibility; amplifies population overshoot and collapse, and makes the steady state less stable; and allows for...

Since the late nineteenth century, decisionmakers and conservation groups have devoted a great deal of time and energy to preserving parks and other natural places. The Wilderness Act of 1964 is the closest thing to a “purist manifesto” to be found in U.S. environmental law and, by...