Customer Reviews

Environmental Economics

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Actual rating - 4.5 stars .

I read this book as a must-read for the Environmental Economics course I had taken in the beginning of the last semester . I think this book is a great choice for students that are interested in this topic . Myself , I didn't know what to expect in the beginning of the course , but it turned up to be a surprisingly interesting and important issue - with the good help of this book .

I have to say that I've learned a lot from reading this book , and it has been a pleasant experience too . Professor Kolstad has really accomplished a commendable achievement in writing a fluent , methodical , thorough and interesting book about Environmental Economics , nearly everyone who wishes to , can read and understand .

I say it as a student who hasn't read other works on the subject , but nevertheless , feels this book has many pluses as an introduction to this subject :

- The author , in spite of announcing it is a book for persons that have taken an Intermediate Microeconomics courses , makes far-reaching efforts to explain nearly every statement he proclaimed . This is a good feature students can use for reviewing forgotten material , deleting the need to use more fundamental books for understanding .

- Significant number of chapters includes a small use of mathematic tools . This fact is of considerable help for the layman , who is interested in expending horizons and lacks the necessary mathematical skills .

I believe the following points characterize many tutorials , but it's important to note them anyway;

- Every figure the author uses is accompanied with detailed explanations that enhance the reader's ability to understand the sketch and the whole subject while at it .

- Every chapter includes an introduction and a summery . The first connects the chapter to the previous one , and assists in grasping the place it takes in the big picture of things , while the second one summarize the major issues dealt with . This functions organize the material and construct an understandable structure of knowledge .

- One last thing , that consists an advantage constructed with disadvantage is the appearance of questions and problems in the end of each chapter , in the obvious order to help you check out your understanding , but with the irritating absence of answers and solutions (!) . What's the point in composing personal examinations without any achievable , certified solutions ? How can I know I am right ? I recommend authors to annex a booklet/extra pages with the correct answers , along with a full description of the way to the solution plus explanations - if you include such a tutorial tool in your book - do it right .

Excluding the last disadvantage , I'm most pleased with this book , and would recommend it for anyone who is interested in environment and its protection problems

This book is more than a simple overview of the wide environmental economics world, since it embraces the subject in a clear, comprenhensive but in-depth enough to get a very good picture of it.

It has some typos, and you need to have a solid microeconomics background to get through. But it is an excellent source to know the subject and its technicalities. It states the downsides of each methodology fairly, so you get the whole picture.

Purchased for an Eviro Econ Course. Book covers most topics, weak on valuation. Full of typos. Discussion of many topics very convoluted. Not an easy read.

This is not a well written book. The ideas are not clearly explained. The book has many typos. I have read every chapter and haven't found one chapter where the author explains a topic of any degree of complexity in a clear and coherent maner. I am an undergraduate and have taken 6 economics classes prior to this class and always found my book to be very helpful. This book is not. I read it and become more confused. I know I am not alone. My study group is frequently confused by passages and explanations of concepts. We take to researching the concepts on the internet and then inferring what the author intended to say. My professor dislikes it too but says it is the least bad book on this subject.

Also, the answers to the problems at the end of each chapter are not in the back of the book. I cannot stand it when books don't include the answers. For $80.00 there should be answers in the back of the book. Mr. Kolstad, your book is terrible. It lacks the ability to explain economic concepts in a way that is understandable.