Z:gnu-www-ja-frank--a44c03-More than a century later, the/en

More than a century later, the general public continues to regard economists with suspicion. This attitude stems in part from an apparent misunderstanding of economists' positions on important public policy issues. For example, economists commonly advocate auctioning rights to discharge atmospheric pollutants to the highest bidders, leading critics to bemoan economists' &ldquo;shocking disregard for the environment and lack of compassion for the poor.&rdquo; What else, the critics ask, could enable them to support a program under which &ldquo;the rich can pollute to their heart's content?&rdquo; On closer examination, however, the economist's position is less hostile to the interests of the poor and the environment than it appears. Indeed, as almost every economics student now knows, the effect of auctioning pollution rights is to concentrate the burden of pollution reduction in the hands not of the poor but of those people and firms who can reduce pollution at the lowest cost. And this is an outcome that is clearly in the interests of all citizens, rich and poor alike.