THE POLITICAL ECONOMY 

 OF RESOURCE USE 



^ Edward S. Mason 



The general subject of this whole book is the conservation of natural 

 resources. Unfortunately, a commentator on conservation problems 

 seems to be given a choice between a definition of conservation so 

 broad as to be meaningless and one so narrow that it excludes most of 

 the questions that have occupied conservationists. If conservation is 

 defined as a "wise use of resources" nothing escapes its ken, but the 

 invitation to subjective value judgments is so sweeping as to leave 

 little room for rational analysis. If, on the other hand, conservation is 

 defined as "a shift in the time distribution of the rate of use of a re- 



EDWARD S. MASON, Dean of the Graduate School of Public Admin- 

 istration at Harvard University for the past eleven years, is well known for his 

 versatility in the field of economics. Perhaps his greatest contributions, how- 

 ever, have centered in industrial organization, foreign economic policy, and 

 international trade. He has been economic consultant to many branches of the 

 United States Government, including the Department of Labor, the Defense 

 Commission, and the Department of State. In 1947 he was appointed chief 

 United States economic adviser to the Moscow conference on reparations. He 

 was also a member of the President's Materials Policy Commission. More re- 

 cently, at Harvard, he has been responsible for the establishment and conduct 

 of the Economic Development Advisory Body to the Government of Pakistan 

 Planning Board, and also for the establishment of the New York Metropolitan 

 Regional Study. He was born in Clinton, Iowa, in 1899; received his B.Litt. 

 from Oxford University, and his Ph.D. from Harvard University Graduate 

 School. 



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