Evaluating coasean bargaining experiments with meta-analysis

While the Coase Theorem has been a touchstone for understanding bargaining behavior, it has also been criticized for relying on unrealistic assumptions. In response, a line of experimental research analyzes bargaining behavior in laboratory settings. This paper uses meta-analysis to evaluate the Coasean bargaining literature by modeling the probability of an efficient bargain as a function of: (1) measures of transaction costs and related variables, and (2) measures of the social dimensions of a bargain. Results suggest that efficient solutions are more likely when explicit transaction costs do not exist, in the absence of a binding time limit, and when participants have perfect information on payoff schedules. Social dimension variables are found to have the potential to affect bargaining outcomes and are an important avenue for further research.Coase Theorem

Benefit Estimation of Water Quality Improvements in Bagmati River Using Choice Modeling

Environmental Economics and Policy,

Building Social Capital in Forest Communities: Analysis of New Mexico\u27s Collaborative Forest Restorative Program

In part because of its emphasis on building social capital, the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program (CFRP) in New Mexico represents a unique experiment in public lands management. This study uses logit probability modeling to investigate what factors determined CFRP funding, which totaled $26 million between 2001 and 2006. Results reveal program preferences for projects that encourage collaboration and improve forest health, especially in poor counties. Negative determinants of funding include measures of small-diameter material utilization and whether a project takes place across multiple land jurisdictions. There is no evidence of bias toward funding any particular applicant type or land jurisdiction

Knowledge, Information, and Water Treatment Behavior of Residents in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Access to safe drinking water plays a crucial role in the overall social and economic development of a community. Unsafe water delivered to household taps increases the risks of waterborne diseases and threatens population health. Consumers can adopt a number of averting behaviors such as filtering or boiling their water. While these approaches are effective in reducing the likelihood of contracting a waterborne disease, not all households treat their water. Given this, it is important to develop a better understanding of factors that influence water treatment behavior. In this paper, we examine determinants of water treatment behavior using survey data (N=1200) from Kathmandu, Nepal. In particular, this paper focuses on the impacts of knowledge, exposure to information, and community participation on drinking water treatment behavior. Previous research has found that income, education level, awareness, and exposure to media are major factors that impact the individual-level decision to treat water before using it. We contribute to this literature by explicitly examining how knowledge about waterborne diseases, exposure to water quality information campaigns, and participation in community organizations impact drinking water treatment behavior. The results from probit regression analyses suggest that either a one percentage increase in the knowledge index or community participation index both increase the likelihood of utilizing drinking water treatment methods by about 0.17 percentage points. Households connected to the distribution system are 31 percentage points more likely to treat water compared to those that are not connected to the system. Multinomial results indicate that wealthier households use more than one treatment method

Using Patient Characteristics and Attitudinal Data to Identify Treatment Preference Groups: A Latent-Class Model’. Depression and Anxiety

† Thacher and Morey are equal authors and rotate primary author position

Forest Amenities and Location Choice in the Southwest

Locations with natural characteristics, such as forest, are thought to be attractive residential locations. This proposition is tested in the Southwest United States, composed of Arizona and New Mexico. This paper presents a conditional logit model of location choice estimated with household observations from the U.S census, geographic information system (GIS) data, and county-level data. Results suggest that forest area, both in one's own location and nearby, increases the probability of choosing a location. But significant heterogeneity in location choices exists; an income effect and life-cycle effects on the demand for forest amenities appear to determine location choices

Intra-Regional Amenities, Wages, and Home Prices: The Role of Forests in the Southwest

Forests provide non-market goods and services that people are implicitly willing to pay for through hedonic housing and labor markets. But it is unclear if compensating differentials arise in these markets at the regional level. This empirical question is addressed in a study of Arizona and New Mexico. Hedonic regressions of housing prices and wages using census and geographic data show that forest area carries an implicit price of between $27 and$36 per square mile annually. Compensating differentials at the regional level suggest that care must be taken when applying the travel cost method to value regionally delineated characteristics