Science should put business hat on

Professor Andrew P. Dobson is my guest on today’s Inside Ideas. A member of the Ecology and Evolution faculty at Princeton, Professor Dobson’s research focuses on the role that infectious diseases play in the dynamics of wild animal and plant populations and how this modifies the structure of food webs. Andy has published and edited several books: Conservation and Biodiversity; Population Dynamics of Diseases in Natural Populations; and Unsolved Problems in Ecology. 

Talking to me about the impacts of deforestation on today’s show, he said: “Scientists and policymakers have to be clearer about the consequences of deforestation, and the consequences of another epidemic. Scientists need to think more like businessman and say, can we come up with solutions to this? Solutions that people can invest in so that the solution stops the bad thing from happening but does so in a way that generates jobs and income for people who are prepared to invest in it. That requires more interactions between ecologists and economists, and with business people and entrepreneurs to develop economic models that can create huge incentives for doing sensible things, rather than corrupting incentives for doing bad things.”

For more on this, and much more, listen to today’s fascinating podcast with Professor Dobson.

______________________________________________________________

Inside Ideas is on every Tuesday + Thursday. You can watch all the shows on YouTube, and listen to the audio wherever you get your podcast. And remember to follow the show on Instagram and Facebook.

______________________________________________________________

Sign up and get all podcasts sent straight to your inbox