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William D. Nordhaus Books

1 book·~10 min total read

William D. Nordhaus is an American economist and Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University.

Known for: The Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World

Books by William D. Nordhaus

The Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World

The Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World

economics·10 min read

In this influential work, Nobel laureate William D. Nordhaus explores the economic and policy dimensions of climate change. He presents the global climate system as a 'casino' in which humanity is gambling with the planet’s future, emphasizing the risks and uncertainties of inaction. Nordhaus integrates scientific evidence with economic modeling to argue for carbon pricing and coordinated international policies as the most effective means to mitigate global warming.

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Key Insights from William D. Nordhaus

1

Scientific Foundations

To understand the gambling metaphor, we must first grasp the rules of the game—the basic physics of the climate system. The Earth’s climate is governed largely by the greenhouse effect: certain gases trap a fraction of the outgoing infrared radiation, keeping the planet’s surface warmer than it woul...

From The Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World

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Economic Framework

The heart of the climate problem lies in its economics. Carbon emissions are an externality: the costs they impose are borne not by the emitter but by society at large. When a factory produces electricity using coal, or when an individual drives a gasoline car, the private cost excludes the damage d...

From The Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World

About William D. Nordhaus

William D. Nordhaus is an American economist and Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University. He is best known for his pioneering work on the economics of climate change and for developing the DICE model, which integrates economic and environmental systems. Nordhaus was awarded the Nobel Priz...

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William D. Nordhaus is an American economist and Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University. He is best known for his pioneering work on the economics of climate change and for developing the DICE model, which integrates economic and environmental systems. Nordhaus was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2018 for his contributions to integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis.

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William D. Nordhaus is an American economist and Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University.

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