SABIIA - Sistema Aberto e Integrado de Informação em Agricultura (Sabiia)

Ngugi, Daniel; Mullen, Jeffrey D.; Bergstrom, John C..

This study seeks to forecast land use change in a North Georgia ecosystem, and estimate the economic value of the ecosystem using benefit transfer techniques. We forecast land use change based on a structural time series model and a simple growth rate model. The study suggests a lower bound willingness to pay value of about USD 16,000 per year to ensure compliance with fishing and drinking water quality standards with regard to fecal coliform bacteria and dissolved oxygen. Conservation efforts are likely to cost less than the cost of defensive behavior or ecosystem restoration.

Medición de la ecoeficiencia en procesos productivos en el sector agrario. Caso de estudio sobre producción de cítricos

Palavras-chave: Ecosystem; Economic value; North Georgia; Land use; Water quality; Structural time series; Benefit transfer; Forecasting; Environmental Economics and Policy; Land Economics/Use; Q51; Q53; Q57; R14.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/47110

Ribal, Javier; Sanjuan, Neus; Clemente, Gabriela; Fenollosa, M. Loreto.

La eco-eficiencia se define mediante la ratio “valor económico/impactos ambientales”. En este trabajo se evalúa la eco-eficiencia de la producción de cítricos en la Comunidad Valenciana. Se han construido 24 escenarios de producción de naranjas según sus prácticas agrícolas y se han determinado sus impactos ambientales mediante Análisis de Ciclo de Vida así como su valor económico añadido. Los resultados se refirieron a 1 kg de naranjas. La integración de la evaluación económica y la ambiental en la ratio se realizó mediante Data Envelopment Analysis. Entre los escenarios más eco-eficientes predominaron los de producción ecológica.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Eco-eficiencia; Data Envelopment Analysis; Análisis de Ciclo de Vida; Cítricos; Agricultural and Food Policy; Q10; Q51.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/57290

Do Environmental Services Buyers Prefer Differentiated Rates? A Case Study from the Colombian Andes

Moreno-Sanchez, Rocio del Pilar; Maldonado, Jorge Higinio; Wunder, Sven; Borda, Carlos Andres.

Flat user fees in payment for environmental services (PES) schemes promote administrative ease, and are sometimes perceived as egalitarian. However, when environmental service (ES) buyers are heterogeneous in their income and water consumption levels, this may not be optimal, as total payments become too low and services are under-supplied. This paper identifies ES buyer preferences and estimates their willingness to pay (WTP) differentiated fees in an ongoing PES initiative in an Andean watershed in Colombia. Small, flat user payments have recently been introduced to implement incipient watershed protection upstream. Environmental service users fall into two highly heterogeneous categories: smallholder peasants and owners of recreational houses. We...

Economic Uncertainties in Valuing Reductions in Children's Environmental Health Risks

Palavras-chave: PES; WTP; Environmental services; Colombia; Watershed protection; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Demand and Price Analysis; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; Q56; Q25; Q5; Q51; C25; D10; D12; D61; D63.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/91171

Hoffmann, Sandra A.; Krupnick, Alan J.; Adamowicz, Wiktor L..

The recognition that environmental hazards can affect children differently and more severely than adults has provoked growing concern in industrialized nations about the impact of environmental pollution on children's health. In this paper, commissioned by the OECD, we are charged with examining "economic uncertainties" associated with valuing the benefits of environmental policies that reduce risk to children's health. We examine two sources of uncertainty in benefits estimation: forecasting uncertainty and modeling uncertainty. We explore how these sources of uncertainty affect the use of standard economic and non-economic approaches to the valuation of health benefits. These include willingness-to-pay measures, cost-of-illness and human-capital...

Risk Belief, Producer Demand, and Valuation of Improved Irrigations: Results from Field Experiments in Mt. Kilimanjaro

Palavras-chave: Willingness to pay; QALY; Children; Social welfare function; Health valuation; Environmental health; Household behavior; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q51; I18; I1; J17; D13; D6; D63; D64.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10722

Muamba, Francis; Kraybill, David S..

This paper systematically estimates the potential benefit of introducing improved irrigation schemes in Mt. Kilimanjaro to help rain dependent farmers cope with the risks of climate change. The study uses Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to elicit farmers’ Willingness to Pay (WTP) for eliminating the risks of crop loss by accessing improved irrigation schemes. Data for the analysis were gathered using a double bounded survey from over 200 randomly-sampled farmers in 15 villages. The study makes a contribution to the applied welfare literature and should also be useful for policymakers in Africa. The policy contribution consists of valuation of improved irrigation in the presence of climate change risks. The applied welfare contribution consists of...

Valuing international marine resources: A meta-analysis on the Baltic Sea

Palavras-chave: Willingness to Pay; Climate Change; Irrigation; Risk Belief; Agricultural and Food Policy; Environmental Economics and Policy; Food Security and Poverty; International Development; Q12; Q18; Q25; Q51; Q56.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/61653

Ahtiainen, Heini.

The study uses meta-analysis to provide insights into the value of international marine resources, illustrating the issue with the case of the Baltic Sea. Willingness to pay for water quality improvements varies systematically with factors such as a country’s income level, characteristics of the change in water quality, water body type, study year and methodology. The results of the meta analysis are applied to benefit transfer in order to assess the distribution of the benefits of marine protection measures between the Baltic Sea countries and to compare the results with previous research. The net benefits of protecting the Baltic are positive, but they are asymmetrically distributed between the littoral countries.

Divergence between WTA and WTP Revisited: Livestock Grazing on Public Range

Palavras-chave: Meta-analysis; Water quality valuation; Marine areas; The Baltic Sea; Environmental Economics and Policy; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods; Q26; Q51.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/48915

Sun, Lili; van Kooten, G. Cornelis; Voss, Graham M..

The research reported here provides further empirical support for the contention that there is a divergence between WTA and WTP. The conclusion is based on results from a 2002 survey of Nevada ranchers that asked about willingness to pay for public forage and WTA compensation to part with grazing rights. WTP and WTA are estimated simultaneously, with the estimators used to demonstrate a statistically significant divergence between WTP and WTA. The simultaneous estimation allows us to identify ranch characteristics that influence the discrepancy in valuations. Ranch size, public grazing allotment, financial distress, and long term commitment to ranching are all significant influences on the disparity. We interpret these results both with respect to general...

USING BEST WORST SCALING TO INVESTIGATE PERCEPTIONS OF CONTROL AND CONCERN OVER FOOD AND NON-FOOD RISKS

Palavras-chave: Contingent valuation methods; Dichotomous choice surveys; WTA versus WTP; Grazing rights and public forage; Agribusiness; Land Economics/Use; Q15; Q24; Q51.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/37014

Erdem, Seda; Rigby, Dan.

This research locates a series of risks or hazards within a framework characterized by the level of control respondents believe they have over the risks, and the level of worry the risks prompt. It does this for a set of both food and non-food risks. The means by which this is done is novel and differs from past risk perception analyses in that it asks people directly regarding their relative assessments of the levels of control and worry regarding the risks presented. The cognitive burden associated with people ranking and scaling items in large sets is notoriously heavy and so this study uses an elicitation method designed to make the process intuitive and cognitively manageable for respondents. The substantive analysis of the risk perceptions has 4 main...

Willingness to Pay for Emission Reductions with E85

Palavras-chave: Best-worst scaling; Maximum Difference; Food; Risk; Perception; Novel Technology; E.coli; UK; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods; Risk and Uncertainty; Q18; Q51; D03; D12.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/61518

Jensen, Kimberly L.; Marra, Adrienne; Clark, Christopher D.; English, Burton C..

This study examines consumers' WTP for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from E85 as opposed to gasoline. Data were collected via a contingent choice exercise in a 2009 national online survey. As part of the fuel choice exercise, several fuel attributes were allowed to vary including emission reductions, import level, proximity of fuel availability, price, and fuel blend (E85 or regular gasoline). A random parameters model with demographics and attitudes interacted with emission reductions was estimated. The resulting estimates suggest that, overall the WTP for an emission reduction is not statistically significant. However, for some demographic and attitudinal profiles, the WTP is significant. An example profile includes younger age, female,...

Assessing national values to protect the health of the Great Barrier Reef

Palavras-chave: Willingness to Pay; Emission Reductions; E85; Consumer/Household Economics; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q41; Q51.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/60916

Rolfe, John; Windle, Jill.

The aim of this study was to estimate the values to protect the health of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) at the national level and to examine the effects of distance decay on valuation estimates. A split-sample choice-modelling experiment was conducted in six locations: a regional town within the GBR catchment area (Townsville); Brisbane, the state capital approximately 450 km from the southern limit of the GBR; and four other capital cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth) ranging from nearly 1,000 km to over 4,000 km from Brisbane. The results suggest that the average WTP across Australian households is $21.68 per household per annum for five years. There was some evidence of distance decay in values. Most decline occurred once outside the home...

Economic Valuation of Forest Ecosystem Services: Methodology and Monetary Estimates

Palavras-chave: Distance decay; Iconic resources; Choice modelling experiment; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q51; Q57.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/100732

Chiabai, Aline; Travisi, Chiara M.; Ding, Helen; Markandya, Anil; Nunes, Paulo A.L.D..

By using ad hoc value transfer protocols, this paper offers a methodological contribution and provides accurate per hectare estimates of the economic value of some selected ecosystem services for all forest biomes in the world, identified following the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment taxonomy MEA. The research also estimates potential total economic losses from policy inaction in year 2050. Final results show that total losses are significant. The total figure is €78 billion, the greatest losses coming from North America and Mexico, followed by Africa, Russia and some Asiatic countries. Most of this loss is attributable to provisioning services and carbon sequestration, while only a minor part is due to loss of cultural services. In terms of biomes the...

Incorporating Project Uncertainty in Novel Environment Biotechnologies: Illustrated Using Phytoremediation

Palavras-chave: Forest; Ecosystem Services; Biodiversity; Valuation; Value Transfer; Environmental Economics and Policy; O13; Q23; Q26; Q51; Q54; Q57.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/50361

Linacre, Nicholas A.; Whiting, Steven N.; Angle, J. Scott.

Pollution of the environment by metals and organic contaminants is an intractable global problem, with cleanup costs running into billions of dollars using current engineering technologies. The availability of alternative, cheap and effective technologies would significantly improve the prospects of cleaning-up metal contaminated sites. Phytoremediation has been proposed as an economical and ‘green’ method of exploiting plants to extract or degrade the contaminants in the soil. To date, the majority of phytoremediation efforts have been directed at leaping the biological, biochemical and agronomic hurdles to deliver a working technology, with scant attention to the economic outlook other than simple estimates of the cost advantages of phytoremediation over...

Ecotourism as a Means of Conserving Wetlands

Palavras-chave: Biotechnology; Project risk; Soil contaminants; Environmental remediation; Industrial crop technologies; Crop Production/Industries; Q5; Q51; Q2.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/59223

Pemberton, Carlisle A.; Mader-Charles, Kathleen.

The Nariva Swamp on the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean is being degraded due to increasing human activity. However, its conservation is desirable, as it is an internationally recognized wetland. The study examined an ecotourism project, with an emphasis on community participation, as a conservation approach to the Swamp, via benefit-cost analysis, where the benefits of conservation were measured by contingent valuation. Contingent valuation showed that the residents of Trinidad were willing to pay an average of $56 for conserving the Swamp. The analysis also showed that ecotourism represents an economically feasible use of ecologically fragile resources of this wetland.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Benefit-cost analysis; Contingent valuation of wetlands; Ecotourism; Q26; Q51; Q57; R14.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/43521

Climate Change Assessment and Agriculture in General Equilibrium Models: Alternative Modeling Strategies

Palatnik, Ruslana Rachel; Roson, Roberto.

Agricultural sectors play a key role in the economics of climate change. Land as an input to agricultural production is one of the most important links between economy and the biosphere, representing a direct projection of human action on the natural environment. Agricultural management practices and cropping patterns have a vast effect on biogeochemical cycles, freshwater availability and soil quality. Agriculture also plays an important role in emitting and storing greenhouse gases. Thus, to consistently investigate climate policy and future pathways for the economic and natural environment, a realistic representation of agricultural land-use is essential. Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models have increasingly been used to this purpose. CGE models...

Estimating Ricardian Models With Panel Data

Palavras-chave: Computable General Equilibrium (CGE); Partial Equilibrium (PE); Agriculture; Land Use; Climate Change; Environmental Economics and Policy; C68; D58; Q24; Q51; Q54.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/54284

Massetti, Emanuele; Mendelsohn, Robert.

Many nonmarket valuation models, such as the Ricardian model, have been estimated using cross sectional methods with a single year of data. Although multiple years of data should increase the robustness of such methods, repeated cross sections suggest the results are not stable. We argue that repeated cross sections do not properly specify the model. Panel methods that correctly specify the Ricardian model are stable over time. The results suggest that many cross sectional methods including hedonic studies and travel cost studies could be enhanced using panel data.

WHO IS MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THE MEAT WE EAT IS SAFE?

Palavras-chave: Climate Change; Impacts; Agriculture; Hedonic Models; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; Q1; Q12; Q51; Q54.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/115727

Erdem, Seda; Rigby, Dan; Wossink, Ada.

We report results of an analysis of the attribution of relative responsibility across the stages of the food chain for ensuring food safety. Specifically, we identify perceptions of the share of the overall responsibility that each stage in the food chain has to ensure that the meat people cook and eat at home does not cause them to become ill. Results are reported for two groups of stakeholders: consumers and farmers, and for two types of meat: chicken and beef. The stakeholders’ opinions regarding the relative degrees of responsibility of the sequential food chain stages (feed supplier, farmer, livestock transportation, abattoir,… consumer) are elicited via surveys using the Maximum Difference technique (best-worst scaling). The data are analyzed using...

Assessing community values for reducing agricultural emissions to improve water quality and protect coral health in the Great Barrier Reef

Palavras-chave: Maximum Difference; Best Worst Scaling; Responsibility; Food Safety; Perception; Agricultural and Food Policy; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods; Q18; Q51; D03; D12.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/61642

Rolfe, John; Windle, Jill.

Key policy issues relating to protection of the Great Barrier Reef from pollutants generated by agriculture are to identify when measures to improve water quality generate benefits to society that outweigh the costs of reducing pollutants. The research reported in this paper makes a key contribution in several key ways. First, it uses the improved science understanding about the links between management changes and reef health to bring together the analysis of costs and benefits of marginal changes, helping to demonstrate the appropriate way of addressing policy questions relating to reef protection. Second, it uses the scientific relationships to frame a choice experiment to value the benefits of improved reef health, and links improvements explicitly to...

Investigating Distance Effects on Environmental Values: A Choice Modelling Approach

Palavras-chave: Choice modelling experiment; Attribute definition; Input output definition; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q. 15; Q51; Q57.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/100705

Concu, Giovanni B..

This paper describes a Choice Modelling experiment set up to investigate the relationship between distance and willingness to pay for environmental quality changes. The issue is important for the estimation and transfer of benefits. The Choice Modelling experiment allows testing distance effects on parameters of environmental attributes that imply different trade-offs between use and non-use values. The sampling procedure is designed to provide a "geographically balanced" sample. Several specifications of the distance covariate are compared and distance effects are shown to take complex shapes. Welfare analysis shows that disregarding distance produces under-estimation of individual and aggregated benefits and losses, seriously hindering the reliability of...

Social Cost-Benefit Analysis of Scientific Versus Traditional Shrimp Farming: A Case Study from India

Palavras-chave: Aggregation; Choice Modelling; Distance; Geographical Sampling; Specification Tests; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q51; H4; D6..

Ano: 2006

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/25566

Bhattacharya, Poulomi; Ninan, K.N..

This paper attempts a social cost-benefit analysis of scientific versus traditional shrimp farming in West Bengal, India. Using primary data, the paper shows that although intensive or scientific shrimp farming yields high returns as compared to traditional shrimp farming, when the opportunity costs and environmental costs of shrimp farming including disease risk are accounted for, scientific shrimp farming loses its advantage. In fact sensitivity analysis shows that if expected benefits were to fall short by 15% and costs rise by a similar proportion, scientific shrimp farmers report higher losses than traditional shrimp farmers. But large traditional shrimp farmers continue to report positive net returns. These results are also most pronounced for small...

Explaining Differences in Farm Sustainability: Evidence from Flemish Dairy Farms

Palavras-chave: Shrimp Farming; Social Cost-Benefit Analysis; Net Present Value; Benefit- Cost ratio; Environmental costs; Opportunity cost; Risk; Environmental Economics and Policy; Livestock Production/Industries; Q22; Q51.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/51227

Van Passel, Steven; Mathijs, Erik; Van Huylenbroeck, Guido.

An important objective of European agricultural policy is to have a sustainable, efficient farming sector, which uses environmentally-friendly production methods. Agricultural policy makers aim to combine strong economic performance with a sustainable use of natural resources. There is thus a need for tools allowing quantification of farm sustainability as well as for empirical research assessing, analysing and explaining differences in farm sustainability. Using a large dataset of dairy farms, we apply the concept of sustainable value creation to benchmark farm sustainability performance. An effect model captures the determinants of the differences in sustainability among Flemish dairy farms. Our empirical model shows that both managerial and structural...