The Experts below are selected from a list of 1176 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Jason F. Shogren - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Integration-Valuation Nexus in Invasive Species Policy
2014Co-Authors: Jason F. Shogren, David Finnoff, Chris Mcintosh, Chad SettleAbstract:This paper reviews recent work examining two topics of economic research vital for invasive species policy—integration and Valuation. Integration requires bioeconomic models that blend invasive biology with economic circumstances and the feedback loops between the two systems. Valuation requires Nonmarket Valuation associated with human and environmental damages posed by invasive species. We argue for a second-level of integration in invasive species economics—Valuation based on integration models. Policy prescriptions based on integration models need Valuation work; Valuation surveys need integration models—the two are complements. Valuation could be enhanced with integration in mind; integration could be made better with Valuation in mind. An example from blending the two research areas is presented and its merits demonstrated. Key Words: invasive species, integrated economic-ecological modeling, Nonmarket Valuation Invasive species questions have long challenged policymakers in many countries and organiza-tions around the globe. In the United States, for instance, the number of non-native species is es-timated to be as high as 50,000 (Pimentel et al. 2000). Of these, some 5,000 have become es-tablished, and of those about 500 have become invasive (U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment 1993). An official invader is defined as a species that both is non-native and triggers costs to human or ecosystem health that outweigh any attendant benefits. Invasive species contrib-ute to biodiversity loss and can cause large eco
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Environmental Economics: How Agricultural Economists Helped Advance the Field
2010Co-Authors: Catherine L. Kling, Kathleen Segerson, Jason F. ShogrenAbstract:In this essay we examine the coevolution and cross-fertilization of environmental and agricultural economics over the past century. We discuss the key role that agricultural economists have played in the intellectual development of environmental economics. We focus on three primary contributions: incentive design, Nonmarket Valuation, and joint determination. The nature of these contributions is illustrated using specific examples from the literature. Agricultural economists’ tendency to focus on applied problems has enriched and broadened both the academic debates and the policy advice provided by economists.
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Integration-Valuation Nexus in Invasive Species Policy
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 2006Co-Authors: Jason F. Shogren, David Finnoff, Christopher R. Mcintosh, Chad SettleAbstract:This paper reviews recent work examining two topics of economic research vital for invasive species policy-integration and Valuation. Integration requires bioeconomic models that blend invasive biology with economic circumstances and the feedback loops between the two systems. Valuation requires Nonmarket Valuation associated with human and environmental damages posed by invasive species. We argue for a second-level of integration in invasive species economics-Valuation based on integration models. Policy prescriptions based on integration models need Valuation work; Valuation surveys need integration models-the two are complements. Valuation could be enhanced with integration in mind; integration could be made better with Valuation in mind. An example from blending the two research areas is presented and its merits demonstrated.
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Valuation in the Lab
Environmental and Resource Economics, 2006Co-Authors: Jason F. ShogrenAbstract:Experimental methods have proven useful to explore the power and limits to Nonmarket Valuation through stated preference methods. We now understand better how people learn about and react to the incentives, institutions, and information created by surveys. This paper briefly reviews topics in experimental Valuation, including ex ante bias corrections, ex post bias calibration, and examining the circumstances that strengthen or weaken the economist’s presumption of rational Valuation.
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Valuation by conflict
Ecological Economics, 2005Co-Authors: Byung In Lim, Jason F. ShogrenAbstract:Abstract Nonmarket Valuation remains a central issue in ecological and environmental economics. This paper examines the properties of an ex post revealed preference approach to value Nonmarket goods-Valuation through observed effort expended in an environmental conflict. We consider the strategic interaction between players in a conflict, address the implied Nash equilibrium, and report a benchmark 4x-rule as an ex post Valuation estimate for a symmetric player conflict. We then illustrate the degree of bias that exists once one allows for asymmetries in delegation, ability, and Valuation. The benchmark tends to overestimate value if a firm hires a powerful delegate who receives a large contingency fee.
Catherine L. Kling - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Revealed Preference Methods for Nonmarket Valuation: An Introduction to Best Practices
Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 2020Co-Authors: Ian J. Bateman, Catherine L. KlingAbstract:AbstractThis article provides an introduction to the symposium on best practices for using revealed preference methods for Nonmarket Valuation. Nonmarket Valuation is an essential tool in the benef...
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ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS: HOW AGRICULTURAL ECONOMISTS HELPED ADVANCE THE FIELD
2016Co-Authors: Catherine L. Kling, Kathleen Segerson, F. ShogrenAbstract:In this essay we examine the coevolution and cross-fertilization of environmental and agricultural economics over the past century. We discuss the key role that agricultural economists have played in the intellectual development of environmental economics. We focus on three primary contributions: incentive design, Nonmarket Valuation, and joint determination. The nature of these contributions is illustrated using specific examples from the literature. Agricultural economists ’ tendency to focus on applied problems has enriched and broadened both the academic debates and the policy advice provided by economists. Key words: environmental economics, history of economic thought, incentive design, Nonmarket Valuation, joint determination. JEL Codes: Q2, Q5. “The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man.”Thomas Malthus “Yes, I am the Lorax who speaks for the trees, which you seem to be chopping as fast as you please. But I’m also in charge of the brown Bar-ba-loots, who played in the shade in their Bar-ba-loot suits and happily lived eating truffula fruits. Now
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Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Benefits from Conservation Practices Targeted in Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy 2013: A Non Market Valuation Approach
2016Co-Authors: Mainul Hoque, Catherine L. KlingAbstract:With the aim of improving water quality, the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy 2014 sets a goal of reducing agricultural non-point-source generated nitrogen load by 41 percent and phosphorus load by 29 percent in Iowa's waterways. The "strategy" describes several land use that could achieve those reductions, such as widespread adoption of conservation practices in farming, land retirement, and wetland restoration that can meet the specified target reduction. The goal of the current study is to identify the range of ecosystem benefits resulting from the conservation practices associated with each of these scenarios and apply a Nonmarket Valuation method to monetize as many of these co-benefits as possible. The results will inform policymakers and stakeholders regarding the efficiency of the program.
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Environmental Economics: How Agricultural Economists Helped Advance the Field
2010Co-Authors: Catherine L. Kling, Kathleen Segerson, Jason F. ShogrenAbstract:In this essay we examine the coevolution and cross-fertilization of environmental and agricultural economics over the past century. We discuss the key role that agricultural economists have played in the intellectual development of environmental economics. We focus on three primary contributions: incentive design, Nonmarket Valuation, and joint determination. The nature of these contributions is illustrated using specific examples from the literature. Agricultural economists’ tendency to focus on applied problems has enriched and broadened both the academic debates and the policy advice provided by economists.
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Nonparametric Bounds on Welfare Measures: A New Tool for Nonmarket Valuation
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2000Co-Authors: John Crooker, Catherine L. KlingAbstract:Abstract In this research, we adapt and extend previous work on nonparametric bounds for welfare measures. We present a procedure for estimating upper and lower bounds on each consumer's individual willingness to pay for an environmental improvement. The exciting aspect of this work is that these bounds are derived using only observed quantities and prices of visits to a recreation area without resorting to any parametric assumptions on demand or utility. In Monte Carlo simulations, we find that the bounds have the potential to be narrow enough for policy purposes.
Alan Krupnick - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Using Ecological Production Theory to Define and Select Environmental Commodities for Nonmarket Valuation
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 2013Co-Authors: James Boyd, Alan KrupnickAbstract:Economic analyses of nature must somehow define the “environmental commodities†to which values are attached. We articulate principles to guide the choice and interpretation of Nonmarket commodities. We describe how complex natural systems can be decomposed consistent with “ecological production theory,†which, like conventional production theory, distinguishes between biophysical inputs, process, and outputs. We argue that a systems approach to the decomposition and presentation of natural commodities can inform and possibly improve the validity of Nonmarket environmental Valuation studies. We raise concerns about interpretation, usefulness, and accuracy of benefit estimates derived without reference to ecological production theory.
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Using Ecological Production Theory to Define and Select Environmental Commodities for Nonmarket Valuation
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 2013Co-Authors: James Boyd, Alan KrupnickAbstract:Economic analyses of nature must somehow define the "environmental commodities" to which values are attached. We articulate principles to guide the choice and interpretation of Nonmarket commodities. We describe how complex natural systems can be decomposed consistent with "ecological production theory," which, like conventional production theory, distinguishes between biophysical inputs, process, and outputs. We argue that a systems approach to the decomposition and presentation of natural commodities can inform and possibly improve the validity of Nonmarket environmental Valuation studies. We raise concerns about interpretation, usefulness, and accuracy of benefit estimates derived without reference to ecological production theory.Key Words: commodities, endpoints, Nonmarket Valuation, revealed preference, stated preferenceWe develop a systems-based approach to ecological Valuation that draws on production theory. In part, production theory is useful because it allows economists to depict production as a system of inter-related commodities and processes. We apply production theory to the analysis of ecosystem goods and services by describing ecosystems as collections of commodities linked by a range of biophysical processes and then discuss the implications of a systems approach to ecology for Nonmarket Valuation. Our conclusion is that a systems- oriented, ecological-production-based approach to commodity definition has important implications for the quality and interpretation of stated and revealed willingness to pay (WTP] estimates.1 Ecological production theory also leads to suggestions for new stated preference survey protocols. And benefit transfers will clearly gain from the clearer, more consistent commodity definitions we feel are possible via systematic depictions of ecological production.Ecological systems are complex. Economists using stated preference techniques to value ecological changes face a daunting task: how to decompose these systems into commodities that are both consistent with ecological science and meaningful to respondents. We argue that ecological production theory bears directly on the commodity definition issue. It helps identify the linkages necessary to integrate ecological science with commodities useful to Valuation. It also helps address a set of cognitive issues that arise when stated preference subjects are asked to assign value to environmental commodities that are complex or ambiguous. Production theory also helps avoid double-counting and clarifies the interpretation of both elicited and revealed WTP values.Overall, we hope to contribute to a larger conversation within Nonmarket Valuation about commodity definition. The difficulties associated with deriving WTP estimates have, in our view, distracted attention from a more basic issue: what commodities are actually creating value and what are the relationships between those commodities? Some of the arguments presented here raise questions about the validity and/or interpretability of stated and revealed preferences. Our goal, though, is to generate new questions and insight into how Nonmarket Valuations should be conducted empirically.A virtue of market commodities (if you are an analyst] is that markets not only yield prices but define units of consumption. A grocery store is full of cans, boxes, loaves, and bunches. The number of these units bought yields a set of quantity measures to which prices can be attached. A key challenge faced by economists is clarification of the Nonmarket commodities that yield utility. Nature presents us with many possible units from which to choose. Should we use the units governments monitor? Should we use units used in economic studies? The ones used by ecologists? Should we use what laypeople tell us matters most to them?Nonmarket commodity definition is a complicated issue. A review of the Nonmarket literature reveals a lack of uniformity in the way commodities are chosen and presented. …
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The Definition and Choice of Environmental Commodities for Nonmarket Valuation
2009Co-Authors: James Boyd, Alan KrupnickAbstract:Economic analyses of nature must somehow define the “environmental commodities” to which values are attached. This paper articulates a set of principles to guide the choice and interpretation of Nonmarket commodities. We describe how complex natural systems can be decomposed consistent with what can be called “ecological production theory.” Ecological production theory--like conventional production theory--distinguishes between biophysical inputs, process, and outputs. We argue that a systems approach to the decomposition and presentation of natural commodities can inform and possibly improve the validity of Nonmarket environmental Valuation studies. We raise concerns about the interpretation, usefulness, and accuracy of benefit estimates derived without reference to ecological production theory.
Hwang Jee - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The Value of Wildlife Watching Recreation and Techniques for Addressing Nonresponse in Nonmarket Valuation Surveys
UNM Digital Repository, 2014Co-Authors: Hwang JeeAbstract:In this dissertation, the value of wildlife watching recreation is used as the context for exploring different modeling approaches available for combining data from Nonmarket Valuation surveys such as the travel cost method (TCM) and contingent Valuation method (CVM). Another topic explored in this dissertation is the issue of nonresponse in Nonmarket Valuation surveys. The results of this dissertation are useful for wildlife and land managers interested in obtaining theoretically consistent values of wildlife watching recreation using a combination of TCM and CVM data. The practical solutions to nonresponse in Nonmarket Valuation surveys are useful for researchers who wish to implement relatively small-scale surveys due to limited budgets and are concerned about maintaining the sample size. In the first segment of this dissertation (chapter 2), differences in the preference structure of wildlife watchers is studied by estimating a finite mixture (FM) model of wildlife watching recreation using data from a national survey. This model is unique in that the multiple imputation (MI) method was applied to the FM model framework to address missing travel cost data. When compared to a truncated FM model, it was found that using the MI approach led to different consumer surplus estimates, but also greater performance in terms of goodness of fit. Combining TCM and CVM data has many advantages for recreation demand modeling in that it helps overcome some of the shortfalls where only one type of data is used. An area less explored is the use of a utility-consistent modeling framework that unifies the TCM and CVM components to arrive at a single estimate of welfare. However, the scenarios reflected in CVM questions may not always have a TCM counterpart, therefore leading to a discrepancy in the corresponding welfare measures. Chapter 3 presents a utility-consistent joint model of wildlife watching recreation where the scenarios and the welfare measures from the TCM and CVM components are the same. An advantage of this model is that welfare effects can be interpreted in terms of net benefits or willingness to pay. Nonresponse in CVM surveys can lead to a loss in statistical efficiency and bias. In the final segment of this dissertation (chapter 4), a simple recoding procedure is introduced to address missing follow-up responses from a double-bounded dichotomous choice CVM survey. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to examine the performance of recoding compared to list-wise deletion across three scenarios that included randomly arising nonresponse and systematically arising nonresponse. The results of the simulation showed recoding led to lower losses in statistical efficiency
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The Value of Wildlife Watching Recreation and Techniques for Addressing Nonresponse in Nonmarket Valuation Surveys
2014Co-Authors: Hwang JeeAbstract:In this dissertation, the value of wildlife watching recreation is used as the context for exploring different modeling approaches available for combining data from Nonmarket Valuation surveys such as the travel cost method (TCM) and contingent Valuation method (CVM). Another topic explored in this dissertation is the issue of nonresponse in Nonmarket Valuation surveys. The results of this dissertation are useful for wildlife and land managers interested in obtaining theoretically consistent values of wildlife watching recreation using a combination of TCM and CVM data. The practical solutions to nonresponse in Nonmarket Valuation surveys are useful for researchers who wish to implement relatively small-scale surveys due to limited budgets and are concerned about maintaining the sample size. In the first segment of this dissertation (chapter 2), differences in the preference structure of wildlife watchers is studied by estimating a finite mixture (FM) model of wildlife watching recreation using data from a national survey. This model is unique in that the multiple imputation (MI) method was applied to the FM model framework to address missing travel cost data. When compared to a truncated FM model, it was found that using the MI approach led to different consumer surplus estimates, but also greater performance in terms of goodness of fit. Combining TCM and CVM data has many advantages for recreation demand modeling in that it helps overcome some of the shortfalls where only one type of data is used. An area less explored is the use of a utility-consistent modeling framework that unifies the TCM and CVM components to arrive at a single estimate of welfare. However, the scenarios reflected in CVM questions may not always have a TCM counterpart, therefore leading to a discrepancy in the corresponding welfare measures. Chapter 3 presents a utility-consistent joint model of wildlife watching recreation where the scenarios and the welfare measures from the TCM and CVM components are the same. An advantage of this model is that welfare effects can be interpreted in terms of net benefits or willingness to pay. Nonresponse in CVM surveys can lead to a loss in statistical efficiency and bias. In the final segment of this dissertation (chapter 4), a simple recoding procedure is introduced to address missing follow-up responses from a double-bounded dichotomous choice CVM survey. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to examine the performance of recoding compared to list-wise deletion across three scenarios that included randomly arising nonresponse and systematically arising nonresponse. The results of the simulation showed recoding led to lower losses in statistical efficiency.EconomicsDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of EconomicsBohara, AlokThacher, JenniferHorn, BradyHansen, Wend
James Boyd - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Using Ecological Production Theory to Define and Select Environmental Commodities for Nonmarket Valuation
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 2013Co-Authors: James Boyd, Alan KrupnickAbstract:Economic analyses of nature must somehow define the “environmental commodities†to which values are attached. We articulate principles to guide the choice and interpretation of Nonmarket commodities. We describe how complex natural systems can be decomposed consistent with “ecological production theory,†which, like conventional production theory, distinguishes between biophysical inputs, process, and outputs. We argue that a systems approach to the decomposition and presentation of natural commodities can inform and possibly improve the validity of Nonmarket environmental Valuation studies. We raise concerns about interpretation, usefulness, and accuracy of benefit estimates derived without reference to ecological production theory.
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Using Ecological Production Theory to Define and Select Environmental Commodities for Nonmarket Valuation
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 2013Co-Authors: James Boyd, Alan KrupnickAbstract:Economic analyses of nature must somehow define the "environmental commodities" to which values are attached. We articulate principles to guide the choice and interpretation of Nonmarket commodities. We describe how complex natural systems can be decomposed consistent with "ecological production theory," which, like conventional production theory, distinguishes between biophysical inputs, process, and outputs. We argue that a systems approach to the decomposition and presentation of natural commodities can inform and possibly improve the validity of Nonmarket environmental Valuation studies. We raise concerns about interpretation, usefulness, and accuracy of benefit estimates derived without reference to ecological production theory.Key Words: commodities, endpoints, Nonmarket Valuation, revealed preference, stated preferenceWe develop a systems-based approach to ecological Valuation that draws on production theory. In part, production theory is useful because it allows economists to depict production as a system of inter-related commodities and processes. We apply production theory to the analysis of ecosystem goods and services by describing ecosystems as collections of commodities linked by a range of biophysical processes and then discuss the implications of a systems approach to ecology for Nonmarket Valuation. Our conclusion is that a systems- oriented, ecological-production-based approach to commodity definition has important implications for the quality and interpretation of stated and revealed willingness to pay (WTP] estimates.1 Ecological production theory also leads to suggestions for new stated preference survey protocols. And benefit transfers will clearly gain from the clearer, more consistent commodity definitions we feel are possible via systematic depictions of ecological production.Ecological systems are complex. Economists using stated preference techniques to value ecological changes face a daunting task: how to decompose these systems into commodities that are both consistent with ecological science and meaningful to respondents. We argue that ecological production theory bears directly on the commodity definition issue. It helps identify the linkages necessary to integrate ecological science with commodities useful to Valuation. It also helps address a set of cognitive issues that arise when stated preference subjects are asked to assign value to environmental commodities that are complex or ambiguous. Production theory also helps avoid double-counting and clarifies the interpretation of both elicited and revealed WTP values.Overall, we hope to contribute to a larger conversation within Nonmarket Valuation about commodity definition. The difficulties associated with deriving WTP estimates have, in our view, distracted attention from a more basic issue: what commodities are actually creating value and what are the relationships between those commodities? Some of the arguments presented here raise questions about the validity and/or interpretability of stated and revealed preferences. Our goal, though, is to generate new questions and insight into how Nonmarket Valuations should be conducted empirically.A virtue of market commodities (if you are an analyst] is that markets not only yield prices but define units of consumption. A grocery store is full of cans, boxes, loaves, and bunches. The number of these units bought yields a set of quantity measures to which prices can be attached. A key challenge faced by economists is clarification of the Nonmarket commodities that yield utility. Nature presents us with many possible units from which to choose. Should we use the units governments monitor? Should we use units used in economic studies? The ones used by ecologists? Should we use what laypeople tell us matters most to them?Nonmarket commodity definition is a complicated issue. A review of the Nonmarket literature reveals a lack of uniformity in the way commodities are chosen and presented. …
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The Definition and Choice of Environmental Commodities for Nonmarket Valuation
2009Co-Authors: James Boyd, Alan KrupnickAbstract:Economic analyses of nature must somehow define the “environmental commodities” to which values are attached. This paper articulates a set of principles to guide the choice and interpretation of Nonmarket commodities. We describe how complex natural systems can be decomposed consistent with what can be called “ecological production theory.” Ecological production theory--like conventional production theory--distinguishes between biophysical inputs, process, and outputs. We argue that a systems approach to the decomposition and presentation of natural commodities can inform and possibly improve the validity of Nonmarket environmental Valuation studies. We raise concerns about the interpretation, usefulness, and accuracy of benefit estimates derived without reference to ecological production theory.
