THE BIGGER PICTURE

There can be no doubt that economics is closely linked to politics – so much so that early classical economic thinkers such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo used to refer to their subject as ‘political economy’. In practice, not much has changed, despite a tendency of many modern-day academics to view the two subjects as separate niches. All three focal areas of economic concern – efficiency, equity (fairness) and sustainability – are shaped by political forces. But before thinking about these links, let us first consider these three areas of economic concern in terms of wildlife management.

“All three focal areas of economic concern – efficiency, equity (fairness) and sustainability – are shaped by political forces. Let