externalities – Knowledge Problem

Are Property Rights Now More Clearly Defined for Organic Farmers in Minnesota?

4 Comments / Economics, Environmental policy, Law / By Michael Giberson

Michael Giberson The United States Supreme Court chose to let stand a Minnesota Supreme Court decision concerning the rights of organic farmers exposed to pesticide drift from neighboring conventional farms. In the case Johnson v. Paynesville Farmers Union Cooperative Oil Co., the organic-farming Johnsons had sued conventional-farming Paynesville for damages after pesticide drift from Paynesville’s farm …

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Any Reason to Be Worried About Wind Power Industry Layoffs?

4 Comments / Energy markets, Environmental policy, Politics / By Michael Giberson

Michael Giberson In an article titled “4 Reasons All Americans Should Be Worried About Wind Layoffs,” you’d think there would be at least one reason that people should be worried about wind industry layoffs. Sadly, no. Instead the author tells the reader: (1) wind power installations are largely in GOP-held congressional districts, (2) the U.S. …

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Demsetz Discusses Coase’s Mistake on Pigou and Social Costs

5 Comments / Economics, Environmental policy, Law / By Michael Giberson

Michael Giberson Last summer, Harold Demsetz spoke at the Property and Environment Research Center on Ronald Coase’s big mistake in “The Problem of Social Cost.” PERC has just posted the video. The article he is presenting is, “Fallacies in the Economic Doctrine of Externalities,” but I bet in the written article he doesn’t say, “what …

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External Costs of Energy Production, Auditing the Energy Star Program, and More

1 Comment / Electricity, Energy markets / By Michael Giberson

Michael Giberson NewsWatch:Energy puts together a pretty good list of energy links, today noting the National Research Council’s new “Hidden costs of energy: Unpriced consequences of energy production and use.” (Surprise: coal looks bad. But note that much of the harm arises from a small number of coal-fueled generators. The rest of the coal-burners are …

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