Keith Roby Memorial Lecture in Community Science ( 1998 ) “ Using Economics to Protect the Environment ”

Over the years, environmentalists have expressed considerable hostility towards economics and economists. The view is that economics is part of the problem rather than the solution; economics is seen as the ideology of those who exploit the environment and consistently dismiss environmental concerns as `too expensive'. Too often political leaders and others argue that new measures to protect the environment would cost jobs and restrict growth and would therefore diminish community wellbeing.