ABSTRACT
The questions economists are expected to answer concerning exhaustible resources tend to be of the following two types. Firstly, how is the stock of exhaustible resources likely to be depleted over time and how will this change as rates of interest and prices are changed? Secondly, is this depletion path too fast, too slow or, more specifically, what is the optimal rate of depletion of the exhaustible resources? The latter questions fall into the field of economics traditionally referred to as welfare economics and it is with these questions that this chapter will be concerned. The aim is to highlight the possible concepts of social welfare which could determine the optimal rate of depletion of exhaustible resources and to discuss their advantages and disadvantages as concepts of justice. A simple theoretic model is used which requires little knowledge of economics or mathematics to follow.
