Symposium on Wildfire: Economics, Law & Policy
Symposium on Wildfire: Economics, Law & Policy
The University of Chicago Law School
12 November 2010, Chicago, USA
Wildfire: Economics, Law & Policy will be a one day symposium held on 12 November 2010. The symposium is co-sponsored by the John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics at the University of Chicago Law School and Program on Economics Law and the Environment at the University of Arizona. Dean Lueck and Karen Bradshaw are co-directing the event.
Symposium Description
The apparent increasing incidence and intensity of wildfires over the past two decades have produced enormous expenditures for suppression efforts by state and federal governments, and substantial and often incalculable environmental and fiscal costs to an assortment of stakeholders. The power and volatility of wildfires have understandably captured the attention of the media, public, and politicians. Yet, law and economics scholars have historically been slow to engage with the topic; a trend that is quickly reversing. Recent publications in top law journals and popular books on the topic suggest that the topic of wildfire is quickly gaining traction among law and economics scholars. This focus on wildfire law will only increase as wildfires and the attendant public attention on managing them continues to grow.
There is substantial need for scholarly attention to and analysis of wildfire law and policy. The issues are complex and rapidly-emerging; ranging from historic tort problems to far-reaching concerns about how wildfires are being used by terrorists and drug lords. This symposium will bring together law and economics scholars to discuss important public issues. How can public policy address the effects of climate change on wildfire, and wildfire on climate change? Are the environmental and fiscal costs of ex ante prevention measures justified? What are the appropriate levels of prevention and suppression responsibility borne by private, state, and federal actors? Can tort liability provide a solution for realigning the grossly distorted incentives that currently exist for private landowners and government firefighters? The larger question is – do the existing incentives in wildlife institutions provide incentives for efficient private and collective action and how might they be improved?
The wildfire law symposia will provide a first-ever forum for influential law and economics scholars to apply the analysis and methodologies of their field to this important area of law in an unprecedented show of scholarly attention to an important public problem. The goal of the symposium is not only to produce new research on this important topic but also stimulate research after the symposium. The interaction among scholars and literature produced will benefit other issues, including climate change, other natural disasters, and the growing nexus of environmental law and law and economics.
Paper Topics:
The history of wildfire liability in the common law
Richard Epstein, Director, James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law, Olin Program in Law and Economics, University of Chicago Law School
Property law and the control of wildfire
Tom W. Merrill, Charles Keller Beekman Professor of Law, Columbia School of Law
The law, economics and organization of wildfire suppression
Dean Lueck, Co-Director, Program on Economics, Law and the Environment; Professor of Economics; Professor of Law, University of Arizona
Wildfire suppression dynamics between public and private land managers
Karen Bradshaw, J.D. Candidate, University of Chicago Law School
Incentives to prevent start and suppress fires.
Jonathan Yoder , Associate Professor, Washington State University School of Economic Studies
Private and public provision of fire fighting services in Australia
Jeff Bennett, Australian National University
Insurance, incentives, and wildfire.
George Frisvold. Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Arizona
The political economy of federal wildfire management budgets.
Sarah Anderson, Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara & Terry Anderson, PERC.
Climate change and economic forces in wildfire
Jason Johnston, Director Program on Law, Environment and the Economy; Robert G. Fuller, Jr. Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School & Jonathan Klick, University of Pennsylvania
The relationship between federal environmental law and wildfires
Kirsten Engel, Professor of Law and Co-Director Program on Economics, Law and the Environment, University of Arizona
Participants
Sarah Anderson, Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara*
Terry Anderson, Executive Director PERC*
Karen Bradshaw, J.D. Candidate, University of Chicago Law School*
Kirsten Engel, Professor of Law and Co-Director Program on Economics, Law and the Environment, University of Arizona*
Richard A. Epstein, Director, James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law, Olin Program in Law and Economics, University of Chicago Law School*
Lee Fennell, Professor of Law, University of Chicago
George Frisvold. Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Arizona*
Jason Johnston, Director Program on Law, Environment and the Economy; Robert G. Fuller, Jr. Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Gary Libecap, Bren Professor of Environmental management. University of California, Santa Barbara
Dean Lueck, Co-Director, Program on Economics, Law and the Environment; Professor of Economics; Professor of Law, University of Arizona*
Tom W. Merrill, Charles Keller Beekman Professor of Law, Columbia School of Law*
Carol M. Rose, Lohse Chair in Water and Natural Resources, University of Arizona College of Law
Stephen J. Pyne. Regents Professor of Environmental History, Arizona State University**
Roger A. Sedjo, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future
Henry E. Smith, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Tom Swetnam, Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Tree-ring Research, University of Arizona**
Jonathan Yoder, Associate Professor, Washington State University School of Economic Studies*
* Author
** Speaker
Faculty: Richard A. Epstein
For more information on venue and admission please contact:
http://www.law.uchicago.edu/wildfiresymposium
The University of Chicago Law School
1111 East 60th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637
U.S.A.
Tel: +1-773-702-9494
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