Title: Overcoming the natural resource constraints through dedicated R&D efforts: contrasting the non-renewable and the renewable resource economies

Authors: Jean-Pierre Amigues, Ngo Van Long, Michel Moreaux

Addresses: INRA and Universite de Toulouse I (IDEI and LERNA), 21 allée de Brienne, 31000 Toulouse, France. ' Mc Gill University (Department of Economics), 855 Sherbrook Street West, Montreal (Quebec) H3A 3T7, Canada. ' Universite de Toulouse I (IUF, IDEI and LERNA), 21 allee de Brienne, 31000 Toulouse, France

Abstract: There exist specific factor scarcities if, and only if, the inputs of the production process are not perfect substitutes. Under the extreme assumption of strict factor complementarity between labour and resources in the production of some aggregate consumption good, and assuming that the technical coefficient of the resource input can be improved through a dedicated research effort, we compare the optimal research policy in a pure non-renewable resource economy to the optimal research policy in a pure renewable resource economy. We show that they are strongly contrasted.

Keywords: optimal research policies; R&D investments; renewable resources; exhaustible resources; inter-temporal transfers; energy; natural resource constraints; specific factor scarcity; renewable energy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2004.005282

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2004 Vol.4 No.1/2/3, pp.11 - 37

Published online: 19 Sep 2004 *

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