Robert Costanza is Gordon Gund Professor of Ecological Economics and Director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont. Lisa J. Graumlich is Director of the School of Natural Resources at the University of Arizona. Will Steffen is Director of the Center for Resource and Environmental Studies and Director of the ANU Institute of Environment at the Australian National University and Chief Scientist at the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, Stockholm.
A revolution is happening in the borderland between cellular evolution and the evolution of whole organisms and cooperating entities in a community. The authors of the papers in this book are addressing this revolution in a cogent and clear manner. There is much to explain about the cooperative or not-so-cooperative behavior of homo sapiens, and the work in this volume goes a long way toward providing a clear explanation. --Elinor Ostrom, Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Indiana University This important book breaks new ground in the study of international institutions and develops arguments that will undoubtedly stimulate additional research. --Oran R. Young, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara This book fills a gap in the development economics literature by providing a clear and complete statement of the evidence accumulated so far about the effects of development on income distribution and poverty, and by making easily accessible the analytical tools to deal with these issues. It will prove extremely useful to both newcomers to the field of development and specialists. In particular, the extension of the standard analysis to income mobility is methodologically innovative and a significant step forward. --Francois Bourguignon, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Development Economics, The World BankPlease note: A cedilla appears under the c in Francois. Efforts to illuminate the interplay between ideas and human actions will occupy us for the indefinite future. But these long-awaited volumes not only break new ground in this area; they literally define the field with regard to global environmental issues. --Oran R. Young, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara Why do multilateral development banks possessing broadly similar mandates and operating in the same region perform so differently in environmental terms? In a wide-ranging and insightful examination of this question, Tamar Gutner not only shows how shareholder pressure, design features, and recipient demand interact to influence bank behavior, but also sheds light on factors leading to inertia and innovation in international organizations more generally. --Oran R. Young, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara