HOW TO CHANGE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION TO MAKE IT A BETTER INVESTMENT

Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

THE ECONOMICS OF RURAL PLACES AND AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

Community/Rural/Urban Development, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

THE ECONOMICS OF A PUBLIC LAND POLICY

Land Economics/Use,

Land, Economic Change, and Agricultural Economics

This paper analyzes in three contexts the effects of changing economic conditions and varying economic perspectives on the way land is considered in economic doctrine. The first considers agricultural land use where agriculture is connected to the rest of the economy exclusively through input and commodity markets, and when all other parts of the economy are assumed to remain constant. The second connects agriculture to the remainder of the economy by virtue of a shared natural environment, facilitating a discussion of natural resource and environmental economics in relation to agricultural, institutional, and land economics. The third context permits economic change in the entire economy with particular attention given to population density, space, and distance. Private and public decision making are discussed with attention to federal, state, and local division of powers.Land Economics/Use,

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH: ACADEMIC CROWN JEWELS OR COUNTRY COUSIN?

Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

ENVIRONMENT POLICY EDUCATION

Environmental Economics and Policy,

A primer on rural community sustainability [2002]

This Primer is intended to serve Extension personnel and community leaders as they work in local communities facing decisions with long-range implications. Some communities may engage in long-range planning without any compelling reason to do so, except that they believe it is a good thing to do. More communities will need to face current issues with long-range implications. For example, an industrial firm may wish to irreversibly alter the local landscape, an urban expansion may threaten a historic building, or a proposed school consolidation plan may result in losing the local school and busing the local children long distances. When decisions like this must be faced, no easy answers or “cookbook” formulas apply. Each situation is different, including the process used to arrive at a decision. Yet this primer is based on the assumption that certain principles and planning procedures are helpful in such circumstances. This primer is not intended for an ambitious educational program involving large numbers. Rather, it is designed to help local groups build consensus on decisions likely to affect the direction their community takes over time. Principles and general information are found early in the primer, followed by examples and problems. The purpose of both is to stimulate group discussion in a workshop setting. As you read through the primer, group discussion and deliberation can illuminate the questions you formulate

Economic and Social Change in the Fishery

A great deal is known about economic and social adjustments in modern societies, but the two are not well integrated in social science literature. The unique biological conditions in the fishery further complicate decision making at both the micro and macro levels. An assessment is made of how well current private and public sector decision-making in the United States utilizes knowledge from the social and biological sciences in management of the Columbia River fishery. The interdisciplinary concept of social capital is used to integrate knowledge from fishery biology, resource economics, and systems science. Recommendations are made for reform of public sector management of the Columbia River Fishery