Valuing the Prevention of an Infestation: The Threat of the New Zealand Mud Snail in Northern Nevada

The Truckee / Carson / Walker River Watershed in Northern Nevada is under an imminent threat of infestation by the New Zealand Mud Snail, an aquatic nuisance species with the potential to harm recreational fisheries. We combine a utility-theoretic system-demand model of recreational angling with a Bayesian econometric framework to provide estimates of trip and welfare losses under different types of regulatory control policies. We find that such losses can be substantial, warranting immediate investments in preemptive strategies via public outreach and awareness campaigns.New Zealand Mud Snail; Incomplete Demand System; Hierarchical Modeling; Bayesian Simulation

Benefit Transfer from Multiple Contingent Experiments: A Flexible Two-Step Model Combining Individual Choice Data with Community Characteristics

This study proposes a new approach to utilize information from existing choice experiments to predict policy outcomes for a transfer setting. Recognizing the difficulties from pooling raw data from experiments with different designs and sub-populations we first re-estimate all underlying Random Utility Models individually, and then combine them in a second stage process to form a weighted mixture density for the generation of policy-relevant welfare estimates. Using data from recent choice experiments on farmland preservation we illustrate that our strategy is more robust to transfer inaccuracies than single-site approaches. The specification of "intelligent" mixture weights will be a fruitful ground for future research in the area of Benefit Transfer.

A General Approach to Panel Data Set-Theoretic Research

Academic research based on general linear statistical models has been rapidly moving toward a greater and richer use of longitudinal and panel data econometric methods. By contrast, set-theoretic empirical research, despite its growing diffusion, has been mainly focused on cross-sectional analysis to date. This article covers this void in panel data set-theoretic research. We provide some diagnostic tools to assess a set-theoretic consistency and coverage both cross-sectionally and across time. The suggested approach is based on the distinction between pooled, between and within consistency and coverage, which can be computed using panel data. We use KLD's panel (1991–2005) to illustrate how the proposed approach can be applied in the context of set-theoretic longitudinal research

Age-structured Human Capital and Spatial Total Factor Productivity Dynamics

This paper models total factor productivity (TFP) in space and proposes an empirical model for TFP interdependence across spatial locations. The interdependence is assumed to occur due to age-structured human capital dynamics. A semi-parametric spatial vector autoregressive framework is suggested for modeling spatial TFP dynamics where the role of demographic state and technological change are explicitly incorporated in the model to influence their spatial TFP co-movements. Empirical scrutiny in case of Asian countries suggests that cross-country human capital differences in their accumulation and appropriation pattern significantly influenced TFP volatility interdependence. The finding of complementarity in TFP in spatial locations calls for joint policy program for improving aggregate and individual country welfare.Total factor productivity, Spatial growth, Non-linearity, Human capital, Age-structure, Semi-parametric VAR

Chaos detection in economics. Metric versus topological tools

In their paper Frank F., Gencay R., and Stengos T., (1988) analyze the quarterly macroeconomic data from 1960 to 1988 for West Germany, Italy, Japan and England. The goal was to check for the presence of deterministic chaos. To ensure that the data analysed was stationary they used a first difference then tried a linear fit. Using a reasonable AR specification for each time series their conclusion was that time series showed different structures. In particular the non linear structure was present in the time series of Japan. Nevertheless the application of metric tools for detecting chaos (correlation dimension and Lyapunov exponent) didn’t show presence of chaos in any time series. Starting from this conclusion we applied a topological tool Visual Recurrence Analysis to these time series to compare the results. The purpose is to verify if the analysis performed by a topological tool could give results different from ones obtained using a metric tool.economics time series, chaos, and topological tool

Does going green pay off? The effect of an international environmental agreement on tropical timber trade

Trade-related measures aim to regulate side-effects in international environmental agreements and are expected to positively influence the level of participation in the agreements as well as their degree of stability. In this paper we examine one side-effect of the 1994 International Tropical Timber Agreement - its impact on tropical timber trade. We use a cross-sectional dataset on bilateral trade flows of tropical timber that additionally contains information on trading partners' economic and geographical characteristics. Our empirical specification is based on a gravity equation, which is estimated using Heckman's selection model to address the potentially systematic selection of trading partners. We find significantly positive impacts of the 1994 ITTA on member countries' level of tropical timber trade. Furthermore, poor exporter countries benefit more from this trade enhancing effect than their richer counterparts.International environmental agreements, side benefits, bilateral trade flows, product quality, sample selection

Spatial Economic Analysis in Data-Rich Environments

Controlling for spatial effects in micro-economic studies of consumer and producer behavior necessitates a range of analytical modifications ranging from modest changes in data collection and the definition of variables to dramatic changes in the modeling of consumer and producer decision-making. This paper discusses conceptual, empirical, and data issues involved in modeling the spatial aspects of economic behavior in data rich environments. Attention is given to established and emerging agricultural economic applications of spatial data and spatial econometric methods at the micro-scale. Recent applications of individual and household data are featured, including models of land-use change at the urban-rural interface, agricultural land values, and technological change and technology adoption.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, C21, Q10, Q12, Q15, Q56,