An Econometric Analysis of MMS Area-Wide Leasing Versus Tract-Nomination Sales: Does Area-Wide Leasing Result in Lower Government Revenue?

In 1983, US Minerals Management Service (MMS) switched from the Lease Nomination sale format to Area-Wide Leasing (AWL). Since a complete econometric analysis of the effects of AWL on government revenue has not been conducted in almost twenty years, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of AWL on government revenue. Results indicated that AWL reduced government revenue by $1,170 to$1,308 on a per acre basis, which is consistent with the findings in prior literature.Area-Wide Leasing (AWL), Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), High Bonus Bids, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

USING THE RANDOM PARAMETERS LOGIT MODEL TO COMBINE REVEALED AND STATED PREFERENCE DATA

Recent literature has combined Revealed (RP) and Stated Preference (SP) data in the Multinomial Logit Model (MNL) to estimate the value of environmental goods. However, emerging research has identified that a limitation of the MNL is the assumption of Independently and Identically Distributed (IID) errors, resulting in inaccurate model predictions and inconsistent utility parameters. Our analysis applies an alternative method to combine RP and SP data that takes into account the heterogeneity in both the observable and unobservable components of utility. This allows us to test whether such heterogeneity has an important effect on predicting behavioral choices.Revealed and Stated Preference Data, Scale Factor, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Estimating the Nonmarket Value of Green Technologies Using Partial Data Enrichment Techniques

Recent studies have suggested that green technologies may be a cost effective way to manage urban runoff. Literature has also suggests that there needs to be a greater empirical basis to estimate the benefits associated with social values associated with urban trees; we therefore estimate ecosystem benefits of green technologies using emerging data enrichment valuation methods.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Combining Revealed and Stated Preference Data to Estimate the Nonmarket Value of Ecological Services: An Assessment of the State of the Science

This paper reviews the marketing, transportation, and environmental economics literature on the joint estimation of revealed and stated preference data. The revealed preference and stated preference approaches are first described with a focus on the strengths and weaknesses of each. Recognizing these strengths and weaknesses, the potential gains from combining data are described. A classification system for combined data that emphasizes the type of data combination and the econometric models used is proposed. A methodological review of the literature is pursued based on this classification system. Examples from the environmental economics literature are highlighted. A discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of jointly estimated model is then presented. Suggestions for future research, in particular opportunities for application of these models to environmental quality valuation, are presented.Nonmarket Valuation, Revealed Preference, Stated Preference

The influence of ethical attitudes on the demand for environmental recreation: incorporating lexicographic preferences

This article examines the relationships between different ethical attitudes toward environmental quality and the ‘use’ values obtained from the environment. In particular, we consider individuals who have duty-based ethical attitudes that lead to lexicographic preferences for environmental quality. We show that individuals with duty-based ethical attitudes have recreation demand functions that are ‘kinked,’ exhibiting perfectly inelastic behavior over some range of income. However, the kinks cannot be identified from typical cross-sectional data, and to the extent that observed recreation demand for these individuals differs from those with neoclassical preferences, such differences could be captured empirically through a proxy variable that measures ethical attitudes. A more fundamental issue is that changes in welfare for duty-based individuals cannot be determined from their estimated demand function: while an exogenous rise in environmental quality is likely to increase their demand for recreation by these individuals, additional recreation is not the reason for an improvement in well-being. An empirical model to identify the effect of ethical attitudes on recreation is illustrated using survey data on stated preferences for visits to urban parks

Equity Considerations for Wetland Retention Programs: Using a Stochastic Frontier Approach to Investigate Policy Alternatives

This analysis presents a stylized depiction of a government program such as the wetland reserve, where a social planner determines which types of wetlands are brought into production and which are left idle. If the planner is concerned with the dispersion or variance of benefits across producers as well as the mean, his decision problem is algebraically equivalent to a mean-variance portfolio model for a risk-averse individual. The model also identifies an efficient frontier of policies under various “inequality tolerance” levels. Based on available survey data, I apply this method to determine the effects of wetland dispersion on producers’ income

An Econometric Analysis of MMS Area-Wide Leasing Versus Tract-Nomination Sales: Does Area-Wide Leasing Result in Lower Government Revenue?

In 1983, US Minerals Management Service (MMS) switched from the Lease Nomination sale format to Area-Wide Leasing (AWL). Since a complete econometric analysis of the effects of AWL on government revenue has not been conducted in almost twenty years, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of AWL on government revenue. Results indicated that AWL reduced government revenue by $1,170 to$1,308 on a per acre basis, which is consistent with the findings in prior literature

Estimating the Nonmarket Value of Green Technologies Using Partial Data Enrichment Techniques

Recent studies have suggested that green technologies may be a cost effective way to manage urban runoff. Literature has also suggests that there needs to be a greater empirical basis to estimate the benefits associated with social values associated with urban trees; we therefore estimate ecosystem benefits of green technologies using emerging data enrichment valuation methods

USING THE RANDOM PARAMETERS LOGIT MODEL TO COMBINE REVEALED AND STATED PREFERENCE DATA

Recent literature has combined Revealed (RP) and Stated Preference (SP) data in the Multinomial Logit Model (MNL) to estimate the value of environmental goods. However, emerging research has identified that a limitation of the MNL is the assumption of Independently and Identically Distributed (IID) errors, resulting in inaccurate model predictions and inconsistent utility parameters. Our analysis applies an alternative method to combine RP and SP data that takes into account the heterogeneity in both the observable and unobservable components of utility. This allows us to test whether such heterogeneity has an important effect on predicting behavioral choices

COSTS OF WETLAND RESTRICTIONS TO KANSAS AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS

The purpose of this study was to identify the cost of permanent and seasonal wetlands to Kansas Agricultural producers. The analysis was based on survey data collected from Kansas Farm Management Association members. Regression analysis indicated that wetlands are costly to agricultural producers. Permanent wetlands were found to be slightly more costly than seasonal wetlands. Importantly, the results suggested dispersed wetlands are more costly to Kansas farms compared to contiguous wetlands. This study provides information that could be useful in determining farm policy. A subsidy to aggregate wetland acres was expected to reduce costs to producers, while also benefiting society from increased biodiversity