If average costs in a nonrenewable resource industry are U-shaped, a competitive equilibrium may not be optimal and, indeed, may not exist. Although the differential equation that describes the change in the rate of extraction is the same for planner and firm, the boundary conditions obtained...

If a durable good monopolist produces at constant marginal costs and the good depreciates, there exists a family of Strong Markov Perfect Equilibrium (SMPE) with an infinitesimal period of commitment. One member of this family entails instantaneous production of the level of stock produced in a...

A constant social discount rate cannot reflect both a reasonable opportunity cost of public funds and an ethically defensible concern for generations in the distant future. We use a model of hyperbolic discounting that achieves both goals. We imbed this discounting model in a simple climate...

In many cases the optimal open-loop policy to influence agents who solve dynamic problems is time-inconsistent. We show how to construct a time-consistent open-loop policy rule. We also consider an additional restriction under which the time-consistent open-loop policy is stationary. We use...

We characterize the open-loop and the Markov perfect Stackelberg equilibria for a differential game in which a cartel and a fringe extract a nonrenewable resource. Both agents have stock dependent costs. The comparison of initial market shares, across different equilibria, depends on which firm...

We study the importance of anticipated learning - about both environmental damages and abatement costs - in determining the level and the method of controlling greenhouse gas emissions. We also compare active learning, passive learning, and parameter uncertainty without learning. Current beliefs...

A linear-quadratic, dynamic feedback oligopoly model that nests various market structures is used to estimate the degree of competitiveness and the adjustment paths of the two largest coffee exporters, Brazil and Colombia. Their estimated behavior is relatively competitive. This subgame perfect...