An exhaustible resources model in a dynamic input–output framework: a possible reconciliation between Ricardo and Hotelling

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates the problem of exhaustible resources using a dynamic input–output model with classical features. Following past research on the topic, further reconciliation can be made between the analyses of Ricardo and Hotelling on exhaustible resources by introducing resource-searching activities. The study’s model is based on a given real wage rate and a given consumption vector. The model reveals that the paths of prices, royalties, rents, intensities of production and searching processes can be determined once a sequence of profit rates as well as the initial amounts of commodities and resources are given. This paper also discusses the circumstances under which commodity prices are constant when exhaustible resources exist, based on the model presented.

Keywords

• Exhaustible resources
• Dynamic input–output model
• Classical theory
• Searching
• Capacity constraints on extraction