Trends in Natural Resource Economics in JEEM 1974–1997: Breakpoint and Nonparametric Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to identify trends in natural resource economics as reflected in publications in JEEM over the period since its inception in 1974. A secondary purpose is to suggest an explanation for any patterns we observe in the data. The data base consists of all articles published during this period, classified by topic and method. We apply statistical techniques of increasing sophistication to determine the existence of trends, and interpret the results by appealing to what we characterize as forces of demand and supply.