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Pet Overpopulation: An Economic Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Coate Stephen

    (Cornell University)

  • Knight Brian

    (Brown University)

Abstract

The market for pets in the U.S. is important economically and socially. Pets differ from standard economic goods in significant ways, and the market displays a number of interesting problems, most notably pet overpopulation. Despite this, the market has been ignored by economists. This paper develops a dynamic model of the market for pets and uses it to study the problem of pet overpopulation. The positive predictions of the model square well with key features of the markets for dogs and cats in the U.S. The model is used to understand, from a welfare economic perspective, the sense in which there is overpopulation of pets and the underlying causes of the problem. The paper also employs the model to consider what policies might be implemented to deal with the problem. A calibrated example is developed to illustrate these corrective policies and quantify the potential welfare gains.

Suggested Citation

  • Coate Stephen & Knight Brian, 2010. "Pet Overpopulation: An Economic Analysis," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-59, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:10:y:2010:i:1:n:106
    DOI: 10.2202/1935-1682.2574
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    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Dealing with pet overpopulation
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2009-10-21 19:41:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Hestermann, Nina & Le Yaouanq, Yves & Treich, Nicolas, 2020. "An economic model of the meat paradox," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    externalities; optimal tax; population;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • Q20 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - General
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

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