TRAVEL COST METHODS FOR ESTIMATING THE RECREATIONAL USE BENEFITS OF ARTIFICIAL MARINE HABITAT

The growing popularity of marine recreational fishing has created considerable interest in artificial marine habitat development to maintain and enhance coastal fishery stocks. This paper provides a comparative evaluation of travel cost methods to estimate recreational use benefits for new habitat site planning. Theoretical concerns about price and quality effects of substitute sites, corner solutions in site choice, and econometric estimation are considered. Results from a case study indicate that benefit estimates are influenced by the way these concerns are addressed, but relatively simple single site models can provide defensible estimates. Practical limitations on data collection and model estimation are also considered.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

SITE CHARACTERISTICS AND REVEALED PREFERENCES FOR OUTDOOR RECREATION

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

A Nested Demand Shares Model of Artificial Marine Habitat Choice by Sport Anglers

There is growing public interest in the development of artificial habitats to enhance and diversify coastal marine resources for recreational and commercial uses. In this article, a hierarchical discrete choice model of recreational demand for artificial habitat is presented using a nested multinomial logit analysis of artificial and natural habitat site choice by sport anglers. The model can be used to evaluate the effects of site characteristics and socioeconomic attributes of individual sport anglers on the share allocation of marine fishing trips and to estimate the economic benefits of new artificial habitat. An empirical application using survey data from sport anglers in southeast Florida is reported. The model parameters are used to estimate the expected use benefits and distributional implications of alternative new artificial habitat sites. Extensions and limitations of the model for artificial habitat planning are considered.Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Is Investment in Environmental Quality a Solution to Recessions? Studying the Welfare Effects of Green Animal Spirits

Assume that 'green accounting' has been adopted and implemented, does an investment in environmental quality play a role similar to the investment in capital in towing the economy out of a recession? To answer the question, we integrate 'green accounting' into a stochastic dynamic general equilibrium model to study the short-run consequences of investment in environmental quality and hereby addressing if there is an incentive-based fiscal environmental solution to recessions. Surprisingly and counter intuitive, we found that reducing the rate at which humans consume the environment renders a fiscal policy - that engage in environmental investment - less effective in providing a thrust out of a recession. Conditional on the proposed model and the calibrated parameters, we conclude that an increase of one percent in environmental investment will crowd out real quarterly consumption in a range from $102.74 billions to$ 171.11 billions, on average, in every quarter for seven years following the investment (measured in chained 2000 dollars). Therefore, we argue that investment in environmental quality is not a solution to recessions. This result is a striking contrast to the conclusion reached in Weitzman and Löfgren (1997, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 32 (2), 139-153).Environmental Quality, Green Accounting, Stochastic Dynamic General Equilibrium models

ON THE FRONTIER OF GENERATING REVEALED PREFERENCE CHOICE SETS: AN EFFICIENT APPROACH

Deterministic rules for generating choice sets are often employed by analysts confronting universal sets with large numbers of alternatives. For destination choice analysis, site exclusion rules defined by travel time, distance, or quality have a behavioral appeal, yet are fundamentally limited by their one-dimension scope. To remedy this shortcoming while maintaining the concept that trips require costly inputs to yield utility generating outputs, we develop and test an exclusion rule for generating choice sets defined by efficiency measures derived from stochastic frontier econometric models. Choice set composition, site choice efficiency and probability of selection, and consumer surplus are compared with results obtained under alternative exclusion rules.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Applying Habitat Equivalency Analysis for Coral Reef Damage Assessment and Restoration

Quantifying economic damages and restoration measures for injuries to coral reefs has been a difficult task. In the U.S., habitat equivalency analysis (HEA) has emerged as a novel tool that combines biological and economic information to identify replacement habitats of an appropriate scale to substitute for the interim losses resulting from coral reef injuries. This article provides a review of the basic principles underlying HEA and a discussion of important considerations in applying HEA. These considerations include: how to describe coral reef functions and related human uses, recovery rates of coral reef organisms at injured sites with natural and active restoration, selection of replacement habitats and growth rates of organisms in these habitats, and the role of time and discount rates in the analysis. While HEA offers many advantages, specific decisions made in the application process can have a dramatic effect on the scale and cost of restoration and replacement habitat decisions. Management agencies and the scientific community need to be involved in developing standards for quantifying coral reef functions and recovery rates and the role of replacement projects in restoration planning

Economic profile of Florida's marine life industry

The marine life industry in Florida is defined as the harvest of live marine specimens (fish and invertebrate species including plants, live rock and sand, and small “critters”) for commercial use, primarily aquariums. This paper summarizes data collected on the industry since 1990, including total landings, revenues, and trends over time. Regional analysis shows where the primary collecting areas are located in Florida. Seasonal analysis shows when the majority of landings occur within the year. Statistics on the number of participants by type (i.e., collector versus wholesaler) provide insight into the size of the industry. Trends are evaluated in terms of changes across the 9-year period from 1990 to 1998. In general, the number of licensed collectors has increased substantially, landings of fish and animal invertebrates peaked in 1994, angelfish dominated the fish landings, live rock dominated the invertebrate landings, and the average landings per trip have remained relatively constant. (67pp.

1999 US tropical fish wholesaler survey: results and implications

A survey of marine life wholesalers was initiated in 1999 as a first step towards understanding the nature of Florida’s marine life industry, the demand for Florida products, and the need for changes in the way the industry is regulated. Florida firms deal primarily in marine species and collect much of their own product. Wholesalers outside of Florida handle more freshwater species and purchase most of their inventory, the majority from overseas suppliers. Dealers predict that the average firm size will continue to grow as the industry consolidates. Niche markets for eco-friendly product will gain momentum. In Florida, marketing strategies should point to the high quality of Florida species with emphasis on the growing popularity of invertebrates. Wholesalers should look to provide buyers of Florida product with more consistent quantities throughout the year. Resource managers will be challenged to find ways to protect over-harvested species without interfering with the collection of abundant species while considering the effect of new regulations. (42pp.

The state of Florida's estuaries and future needs in estuarine research: Part 2. an academic research agenda (review draft)

As a program supporting academic research that addresses recognized societal needs, the Florida Sea Grant Program is developing a research theme area on estuaries to provide a uniquely academic product that will augment mission-oriented research undertaken by government and by the private sector. This report is not a call for proposals. It does not prescribe a specific research plan. Rather, it is a concept paper designed to focus research on two broad "organizing themes": (1) the hydrology of Florida's estuaries, and (2) the impact of cyclic environmental variability on estuarine function. (46pp.