ABSTRACT
A great deal of attention has been devoted to the analysis of theoretical models of optimal resource depletion.1 This outpouring of theoretical work, however, has had limited effect on empirical models of the supply of exhaustible resources. The objectives of the present analysis are (1) to develop a model in which the supply of exhaustible resources is rigor ously derived from a theoretical model of optimal resource depletion, and (2) to apply that framework to study oil and natural gas supply in the United States.
