Natural Resource Economics

The focus of Week Two surrounds the economic theory behind natural resource extraction and how businesses can utilize environmental knowledge to increase corporate profits. For this assignment you are to produce a paper of at least four pages in length that addresses the issues surrounding natural resource economics. To begin, define the terms current reserves, potential reserves, and resource endowment, and discuss the major differences between these three concepts used to classify the stock of depletable resources. Next, assuming no consideration for environmental preservation, discuss how each of the following factors may affect the rate at which non-renewable resources are consumed:

1. Availability of renewable resources
2. Marginal cost of exploration
3. Technological progress

Now assume that the environmental costs of non-renewable resource use are under consideration. Discuss how consideration for environmental conservation may affect the rate at which non-renewable resources are consumed. Additionally, discuss what this consideration would do to the price of natural resources. With these concepts in mind, address how businesses might utilize environmental concerns to boost corporate profits. Utilize the article by Hopkins (2009) to discuss the opportunities for increased profit caused by a focus on sustainability.

Your paper should include an introduction with a developed thesis statement to set up the paper, as well as a concluding paragraph that sums up your discussion. Additionally, your assignment must be at least four double-spaced pages in length (excluding the title and reference page) and be formatted according to APA (6th ed.) style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. You must use your text, the required article by Hopkins (2009), and at least three additional scholarly sources to provide sufficient detail of the topics listed above. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, located within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar, in your online course.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.