Problems of optimal natural resource extraction that were first addressed by economists in the contexts of fisheries and forests have reemerged in the context of a newly recognized resource: antibiotic effectiveness. This review introduces economists to the growing literature on optimal use,...

The topics discussed in the Handbook on the Economics of Natural Resources are essential for those looking to understand how best to use and conserve the resources that form the foundation for human well-being. These include nonrenewable resources, modeling of biological resources, conservation...

We consider a health authority seeking to allocate annual budgets optimally over time to minimize the discounted social cost of infection(s) evolving in a finite set of groups. This optimization problem is challenging since the standard SIS epidemiological model describing the spread of the...

Universal public finance (UPF)—government financing of an intervention irrespective of who is receiving it—for a health intervention entails consequences in multiple domains. First, UPF increases intervention uptake and hence the extent of consequent health gains. Second, UPF generates...

This paper investigates whether patient‐level factors, in particular cost considerations, affect the physicians' prescribing decisions. In the context of a natural experiment, we examine the effect of the first US commercial free‐antibiotics program on retail antibiotic sales. We find an...

The global spread of diseases such as swine flu and SARS highlights the difficult decision governments face when presented with evidence of a local outbreak. Reporting the outbreak may bring medical assistance but is also likely to trigger trade sanctions by countries hoping to contain the...

We consider a health authority seeking to allocate annual budgets optimally over time to minimize the discounted social cost of infection(s) evolving in a finite set of "R greater than or equal to 2" groups. This optimization problem is challenging, since as is well known, the standard...