Eco-nomics What Everyone Should Know About Economics and the Environment |
CHICAGO – April 28, 2004-The Atlas Economic Research Foundation presented its 2004 Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award to PERC, the Property and Environment Research Center, of Bozeman, Montana, today. The award was given for the book Eco-Nomics: What Everyone Should Know about Economics and the Environment by Richard L. Stroup.
Richard L. Stroup is a senior associate of PERC and head of the department of agricultural economics and economics at Montana State University. Eco-Nomics was produced by PERC with support from the Randolph Foundation. It was published by the Cato Institute in 2003.
The award was given at Atlas’s annual Liberty Forum in Chicago. Atlas is a nonprofit organization that fosters free-market institutes around the world. The annual awards honor Atlas’s founder, Antony Fisher, who believed that well researched publications written for the educated lay person are an important tool for teaching people about the benefits of liberty and the rule of law.
According to reviews by a prestigious team of judges, Eco-nomics fit Fisher’s vision precisely. This slim volume offers a readable and accessible explanation of how ecological problems can be resolved privately and voluntarily. The four chapters of the 91-page monograph each address ten key principles that provide a framework for developing sound environmental policy.
As one judge commented, "In public policy debates there is very often a bias against economic reasoning. Many believe that the economic point of view is nothing other than defending the interests of rich people and capitalists. The careful reader of Eco-nomics will learn that this is not the case. He should learn that economics and ecology are the same sides of the same coin."
Judges for this year’s award were: Donald Boudreaux (George Mason University, Fairfax, VA), Alejandro Chafuen (Atlas), Maurice McTigue (Mercatus, Arlington, VA), Christian Watrin (former Mont Pelerin Society President, Germany), and Carl-Johan Westholm (Secretary Mont Pelerin Society, Sweden). This panel reviewed nominations from institutes that were established before January 1, 1999 – a category which included the PERC publication.
The Fisher awards reflect Atlas’s international institute network, drawing nominations from countries including Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Georgia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Lithuania, Nepal, New Zealand, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, UK, and USA. For additional details about Atlas, visit www.atlasUSA.org.
