Identify the correct statements from below:

(A) First UN conference on human environment was held in Norway in 1972.
(B) In I = PAT expression, P stands for poverty.
(C) Pollution tax was suggested by Pigou.
(D) Population growth follows a logistic distribution.
(E) Hedonic pricing is an environmental valuation method used in valuing tourism sites.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Correct option is B

The correct answer is: (B)

Explanation:

1. First UN conference on human environment was held in Norway in 1972 (A): This statement is incorrect. The first UN conference on the human environment, known as the Stockholm Conference, was held in Sweden in 1972, not Norway.

2. In I = PAT expression, P stands for poverty (B): This statement is incorrect. In the I = PAT equation, "P" stands for population, not poverty. The equation represents the relationship between environmental impact (I), population (P), affluence (A), and technology (T).

3. Pollution tax was suggested by Pigou (C): This statement is correct. Arthur Pigou, an economist, suggested the concept of a pollution tax, now referred to as a Pigovian tax, to address negative externalities like pollution by internalizing the social costs.

4. Population growth follows a logistic distribution (D): This statement is correct. Logistic growth describes population growth where the population grows rapidly at first and then slows down as it reaches the carrying capacity of the environment, creating an S-shaped curve.

5. Hedonic pricing is an environmental valuation method used in valuing tourism sites (E): This statement is correct. Hedonic pricing is a method used to estimate the value of non-market goods, such as the value of environmental amenities, by observing the market prices of related goods (e.g., real estate prices near recreational or tourism sites).

Information Booster:

• Pollution tax (C), also known as Pigovian tax, is designed to correct market outcomes by taxing harmful activities such as pollution, making the polluters bear the cost of the environmental damage they cause.

• Logistic distribution (D) is commonly used in ecology and population studies to describe how populations grow in environments with limited resources.

• Hedonic pricing (E) is a widely used method in environmental economics to value non-market goods like clean air, parks, or tourism sites by examining how such environmental factors affect the prices of market goods like real estate.

Additional Information:

• Stockholm Conference (A), not held in Norway, was the first major UN conference on environmental issues. It led to the creation of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

• I = PAT (B) is a well-known formula in environmental economics where P stands for population, A stands for affluence (per capita consumption), and T represents technology.