Listing and Delisting Thresholds under the Endangered Species Act
研究将物种列入和除名濒危名录视为一对投资选择，提出基于经济回报最大化的决策框架，发现早期经济考量可能更有利于保护濒危物种，但生物不确定性可能导致最需保护的物种被忽视。
Abstract We consider the case where a species provides a flow of economic benefits, is at risk of extinction, and is being considered for addition to the Endangered Species List. Listing a species as endangered is costly but increases the flow of social benefits and reduces the likelihood of extinction. If the species recovers sufficiently, additional costs can be incurred to subsequently delist the species. By treating listing and delisting as a pair of linked investment options, we provide an alternative to current practice for listing and delisting decisions that maximizes the return from public conservation investments. Under this alternative framework, we show that economic considerations may actually afford greater protection for at‐risk species if these decisions are initiated early. However, biological sources of uncertainty may cause those species most in need of protection to be passed over in favor of more stable species that represent a “sure bet” for species preservation.