We study how human preferences affect the resilience of economies that de-
pend on more than one type of natural resources. In particular, we analyze whether the degree of substitutability of natural resources in consumer needs may give rise to multiple steady states and path dependence even when resources are managed optimally. This is a major shift in the interpretation and analysis of resilience, from viewing (limited) resilience as an objective property of the economy-environment system to acknowledging its partially subjective, preference-based character. We find that for a given set of initial conditions, society is less willing to buffer exogenous shocks if resource goods are
complements in consumption than if they are substitutes. Hence, the stronger the complementarity between the various types of resource goods, the less resilient the economy.

gemeinsam mit Martin F. Quaas und Daan van Soest