Introduction to the symposium on trade, renewable resources and biodiversity

The five papers comprising the symposium on trade, renewable resources and biodiversity are good illustrations of a growing literature in this area that show how the design of appropriate policies must take into account complex interactions between ecological, economic and institutional factors. Only through such careful analysis can the impacts of trade on resource management and economic welfare be identified, and only then can possible policy remedies be recommended. Future areas of research include consideration of rent seeking, lobbying and corruption; endogenous institutions and market development; and economic geography.