The computer revolution both in the hardware as well as in software has
made it possible for economists to analyze complex issues which could
not be solved in the past by analytical methods. A large library of
numerical techniques are now available to economists for solving models
ranging from a simple system of linear simultaneous equations to large
non-linear dynamic optimization models. We attempt to take advantage of
these advancements in computational economics to address the issue of
global warming and economic development. The use of computer simulation
models has enhanced the understanding of some of the underlying issues
in the global warming literature which would have been impossible
without these models. However, to date, the global warming issue has
been addressed in a partial equilibrium framework. In other words, the
climate scientists tend to specify economic variables as exogenous
variables in their global warming models while the economists do the
same by specifying the climate variables as exogenous variables in their
global warming models. Both approaches ignore important feedback
relationships which will be triggered when either economic or climate
variables are perturbed. The ideal model structure would be one in which
both systems are incorporated within one framework with emphasis on the
long run effects of greenhouse gas curbing policies and the
corresponding effect on the economic growth potential of the economies.