02264nam a22003618a 4500 CR9780511781131 UkCbUP 20180107143412.0 m|||||o||d|||||||| cr|||||||||||| 100519s2010||||enk s ||1 0|eng|d 9780511781131 (ebook) 9780521877732 (hardback) 9780521701655 (paperback) UkCbUP UkCbUP rda HD1411 .B247 2011 333.7 22 Barbier, Edward B., author. Scarcity and Frontiers : How Economies Have Developed Through Natural Resource Exploitation / [electronic resource] Edward B. Barbier. Scarcity & Frontiers Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2010. 1 online resource (768 pages) : digital, PDF file(s). text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 09 Oct 2015). Throughout much of history, a critical driving force behind global economic development has been the response of society to the scarcity of key natural resources. Increasing scarcity raises the cost of exploiting existing natural resources and creates incentives in all economies to innovate and conserve more of these resources. However, economies have also responded to increasing scarcity by obtaining and developing more of these resources. Since the agricultural transition over 12,000 years ago, this exploitation of new 'frontiers' has often proved to be a pivotal human response to natural resource scarcity. This book provides a fascinating account of the contribution that natural resource exploitation has made to economic development in key eras of world history. This not only fills an important gap in the literature on economic history but also shows how we can draw lessons from these past epochs for attaining sustainable economic development in the world today. Natural resources Scarcity Economic development Print version: 9780521877732 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511781131 Cambridge Books Online 236514 236514