There are different views about the availability of non-renewable resources in the long run.
Hotelling’s (1931) seminal model of exhaustible resources greatly influenced subsequent
studies. Hotelling’s and related fixed-stock models imply decreasing availability and increasing
real prices of non-renewable resources in the long run. However, most of the empirical
evidence does not support the prediction of higher real price trends. Hotelling’s model has
been criticised for ignoring certain factors relevant to the discovery and innovation-driven
creation of additional non-renewable reserves. Contrary to Hotelling’s fixed-stock assumption,
this may expand the total stock of non-renewable resources available for profitable extraction.
The main research objective of this study is to address this problem by identifying a broader
range of factors to be used when constructing models of the availability of non-renewable
resources. This was done by means of an extensive literature survey of both historic and more
contemporary thought in this regard. This study shows the evolution of thinking and reasons
behind the diversity of views on the availability of non-renewable resources. Thirty core facts
were identified and a broad research framework formulated, including policies and methods
to mitigate resource depletion and ensure availability both at national and global levels. A key
finding is that improvements in various productivity-enhancing technologies have, thus far,
delayed the onset of decreased availability and higher real price trends implied by Hotelling’s
and other fixed-stock models. / Economics / M. Com. (Economics)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/27268 |
| Date | 06 September 2020 |
| Creators | Nel, Wilhelm Pieter |
| Contributors | Hodge, Duncan |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 1 online resource (x, 207 leaves) : illustrations (some color), application/pdf |
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