The Personal Journey of a Resource Economist

Abstract

This perspective article begins with speculation about my early interest in conservation at age six and traces my personal development until I became an assistant professor. My contribution to the beginning and development of nonmarket valuation, including an early publication on the stated preference method, is included. All but one of the discussed articles was about a nonmarket context. I also explore my research on endangered species in general and the spotted owl and black rhinoceros in particular. The arc of interest represented in my publications embraces biodiversity. For example, one article covers a metapopulation model, whereas others discuss the bio-economics of antibiotics and an early treatment of uncertainty in a public utility setting. My reconsideration of the analytical and empirical resource scarcity literature in the field is distinctive, while the necessity to work in an interdisciplinary setting is shown as transparent.