An Introduction to Spatial Discounting

Research on the valuation of environmental externalities shows that decision makers tend to discount not only over time but across space. Just as time discounting has implications for intergenerational equity, geographical or spatial discounting has implications for intragenerational equity. Similarly, just as positive time discount rates are warranted by positive net rates of growth of the capital stock, positive spatial discount rates may be warranted by the fact that enviironmental (or other external effects of economic activity are diffused at positive rates. This paper introduces the notion of spatial discounting and explores its welfare implications through a simple diffusion model.     

Specula

Sans résumé éric Brian (mars 2001). Charles Alunni (février 2001). Laurent Nottale (19 février 2001).     

The Exploitation of Carnivores and Other Fur-bearing Mammals during the North-western European Late and Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic

The exploitation of large mammals, particularly large herbivores, has dominated perceptions of Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic subsistence behaviour in north-western Europe. This paper critically reviews the evidence for the exploitation of a complementary resource which has received little attention within the archaeological literature — carnivores and other fur-bearing mammals. Evidence for exploitation of individual species is described and discussed. A model is then developed to explain the apparent expansion of the subsistence base to include a wide range of fur-bearing mammals during the Lateglacial and Mesolithic. This paper concludes by arguing that although the use of carnivore meat and pelts cannot be viewed as a dominant trend in European hunter-gatherer subsistence practices, their contribution to hunter-gatherer economies cannot be ignored.