环境经济学作业

环境经济学作业题

1. 如何理解经济学？

答：经济学是一门研究在可选择的、竞争性目标间配置有限或稀缺资源的学科。实际上，经济学就是研究我们想要什么以及得到它我们愿意放弃什么，是一种选择的科学。所以我们需要明确我们的目标、需要的资源、如何配置资源以及如何优化。例如在选择房子时候，你就要考虑房子区位、价格、周边环境等等因素，最终选择一套自己比较满意的房子。

2. 如何理解机会成本？

答：机会成本是指为了得到某种东西而所要放弃另一些东西的最大价值；也可以理解为在面临多方案择一决策时，被舍弃的选项中的最高价值者是本次决策的机会成本。在生活中，有些机会成本可用货币来衡量。例如：农民在获得更多土地时，如果选择养猪就不能选择养鸡，养猪的机会成本就是放弃养鸡的收益。但有些机会成本往往无法用货币衡量，例如，在图书馆看书学习还是享受电视剧带来的快乐之间进行选择。

3. 如何理解边际成本和边际效用？

答：边际成本指的是每个单位新增生产的产品（或者购买的产品）带来到总成本的增量。这个概念表明每一单位的产品的成本与总产品量有关。比如，仅生产一辆汽车的成本是极其巨大的，而生产第101辆汽车的成本就低得多，而生产第10000汽车的成本就更低了。这是因为规模经济，是生产越多的汽车的成本降低了。但是，考虑到机会成本，随着生产量的增加，边际成本可能会增加。

边际效用指在一定时间内消费者增加一个单位商品或服务所带来的新增效用，也就是总效用的增量。在经济学中，效用是指商品满足人的欲望的能力，或者说，效用是指消费者在消费商品时所感受到的满足程度。边际效用一般是呈现递减趋势，这是因为最初欲望最大，因而消费第一单位商品时得到的满足也最大，随着商品消费次数的增加，欲望也随之减少，从而感觉上的满足程度递减，以致当要满足的欲望消失时还增加消费的话，反而会引起讨厌的感觉。比如一个人饿的时候，吃第一包子的时候有十分强烈的满足感，但当吃到第十个包子，感觉自己很撑了的时候，就没有那种满足感了而是一种厌恶感，从而，边际效用降低。

4.如何理解最佳规模？

答：最佳规模的思想是微观经济学中的基本概念。随着活动的增加，活动的成本与效益会同时增加，但当活动增加到一定程度后，活动成本的增加速度将大于效益增加的速度，这是一个普遍规律。活动增加到一定程度后活动增加的额外效益将低于额外成本，即当边际成本与边际效益相等时，经济活动就达到了最佳规模。

5. 如何理解增长和发展的区别？

答：经济增长与经济发展是两个不同的概念，经济增长是指一个国家在一定时间内商品和劳务的生产能力的增长。经济发展是指—个国家或地区按人口平均的实际福利增长过程，它不仅是一种财富和经济机体量的增加和扩张，而且还意味着其质的方面的变化，即经济结构、社会结构的创新，社会生活质量和投入产出效益的提高。

6. Explain the difference of three approaches of cost effectiveness:

Pigouvian Taxes；Pigouvian Subsidy；Tradable Permits

答：Pigouvian Taxes and Pigouvian Subsidy: A tax designed to equal the marginal external cost of production of a commodity. It is added to the price, which measures only marginal private costs. The price plus tax now measures marginal social cost, thus internalizing the orgianl external cost. If there orginally was an external benefit, then a Pigouvian subsidy would be paid to the producer.

Tradable Permits(quotas): Shares of an aggregate quota that are in some way divided up among individuals, who can then buy and sell their quota rights among themselves.

Whereas a tax follows the polluter-pays principle, a subsidy basically assumes that the polluter has the privilege to pollute, and society must pay him not to. Tradeable permits are another cost-effective mechanism for achieving a specific goal. Rather than increasing prices through a tax to reduce demand, tradeable permits require society to set a quota, a maximum amount of pollution or resource depletion that it will allow.

7. Pareto Efficiency

答：occurs when no other allocation could make at least one person better off without making anyone else worse off.

8. Equimarginal Principle of Maximization:

答：This is known as the “when to stop” rule. The point at which a consumer reaches an allocation that maximizes her total satisfaction or total utility. That point occurs when the marginal utility per dollar spent on eacth good is equal. Only when utilities were equal at the margin would it no longer be possible to increase total utility by reaalocation of expenditure.

9. Natural dividend:

答：The unearned income from the harvest of renewable resources. As nature and not human industry produces renewable resources, all profits above “normal”profit(included in the total cost) are unearned, and the natural dividend is equivalent to the tatal return minus the total cost.

10.Coase Theorem:

答：States that in a perfectly competitive market allocative efficieny will be achieved whether property rights are given to the polluter or the “pollutee”. All that is needed is that someone have the property rights and that transaction costs are zero.

11. Market failure:

答：a situation in which a market left on its own fails to allocate resources efficiently.

12. Basic Market Equation:

答：MU xn/MU yn=P x/P y=MPP ay/MPP ax, where MU is the marginal utility of good x or good y to person n, and MPP is the marginal physical product of factor a used to produce good x or good y.