James Roumasset

Ordering the extraction of renewable resources: The case of multiple aquifers

January 1, 2012

We provide conditions for optimal use of multiple sources of a renewable resource and characterize the resulting extraction sequence, resource scarcity values, and (single) efficiency price path for two groundwater aquifers and an abundant alternative resource. A numerical simulation for the South O‘ahu aquifer system, which also allows for different distribution costs, illustrates the case […]

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Islands of Sustainability in Time and Space

September 7, 2011

We review the economics perspective on sustainable resource use and sustainable development. Under standard conditions, dynamic efficiency leads to sustainability of renewable resources but not the other way around. For the economic‐ecological system as a whole, dynamic efficiency and intergenerational fairness similarly lead to sustainability, but ad hoc rules of sustainability may well lead to […]

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Efficient Management of Coastal Marine Nutrient Loads with Multiple Sources of Abatement Instruments

July 7, 2011

Pollution management based on marginal abatement costs is optimal only if those abatement costs are specified correctly. Using the example of nitrogen pollution in groundwater, we show that the marginal abatement cost function for any given pollution source can be directly derived from a social-welfare maximization problem, wherein controls include both abatement instruments and inputs […]

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Ordering Renewable Resources: Groundwater, Recycling, and Desalination

May 16, 2011

In this paper, we consider the role that wastewater recycling plays in the optimal extraction of groundwater, a renewable resource. We develop a two-sector dynamic optimization model to solve for the optimal trajectories of groundwater extraction and water recycling. For the case of spatially increasing recycling costs, recycled water serves as a supplemental resource in […]

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Ordering Renewables: Groundwater, Recycling and Desalination

May 7, 2011

Optimal recycling of minerals can be thought of as an integral part of the theory of the mine. In this paper, we consider the role that wastewater recycling plays in the optimal extraction of groundwater, a renewable resource. We develop a two-sector dynamic optimization model to solve for the optimal trajectories of groundwater extraction and […]

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UHERO Brief: Honolulu Rail Transit: Do the Benefits Justify the Costs?

January 31, 2011

Preliminary considerations suggest a high degree of uncertainty about whether the benefits of rail justify the costs. As the conversation about rail costs advances, we should continue to consider the relative size of the benefits.

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Publication: Optimal Management of a Hawaiian Coastal Aquifer with Nearshore Marine Ecological Interactions

November 23, 2010

We optimize groundwater management in the presence of marine consequences of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). Concern for marine biota increases the optimal steady-state head level of the aquifer. The model is discussed in general terms for any coastal groundwater resource where SGD has a positive impact on valuable nearshore resources. Our application focuses on the […]

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Publication: Optimal and Sustainable Groundwater Extraction

August 20, 2010

With climate change exacerbating over-exploitation, groundwater scarcity looms as an increasingly critical issue worldwide. Minimizing the adverse effects of scarcity requires optimal as well as sustainable patterns of groundwater management. We review the many sustainable paths for groundwater extraction from a coastal aquifer and show how to find the particular sustainable path that is welfare […]

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Publication: Renewable Resource Management with Stock Externalities: Coastal Aquifers and Submarine Groundwater Discharge

August 1, 2010

We model coastal groundwater management and its effects on submarine groundwater discharge, nearshore marine water quality, and marine biota. Incorporating the stock externality effects on nearshore resources increases the optimal sustainable steady-state levels of both the aquifer head and the stock of a keystone native algae species. Numerical simulations are illustrated using data from the […]

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