Evaluating Myopic Loss Aversion of Forestland Owners

Attracting forestland owners to participate in carbon markets can be challenging for several reasons including offset price volatility, legislative uncertainties, high costs of offset project development, long contract lengths, and landowners’ risk preferences. In this article, we elicit risk preferences and investigate Myopic Loss Aversion (MLA) of forestland owners using an economic experiment. The economic experiment is a betting game and we find that forestland owners exhibit MLA because they bet higher when returns from their investments are evaluated less frequently. Our results provide valuable information for developing carbon market protocols, especially in setting optimal evaluation periods of forest carbon offset projects

Evaluating Myopic Loss Aversion of Forestland Owners

Attracting forestland owners to participate in carbon markets can be challenging for several reasons including offset price volatility, legislative uncertainties, high costs of offset project development, long contract lengths, and landowners’ risk preferences. In this article, we elicit risk preferences and investigate Myopic Loss Aversion (MLA) of forestland owners using an economic experiment. The economic experiment is a betting game and we find that forestland owners exhibit MLA because they bet higher when returns from their investments are evaluated less frequently. Our results provide valuable information for developing carbon market protocols, especially in setting optimal evaluation periods of forest carbon offset projects

An Analysis of Common Forest Management Practices for Carbon Sequestration in South Carolina

South Carolina (SC) has a variety of different forest types, and they all have potential to sequester a certain amount of carbon. Private forest landowners control a significant portion of the overall forestland in SC, and their management efforts can maintain or improve forest carbon stocks. Currently, the second largest carbon market in the world is the California Carbon Market, which gives a monetary value to sequestered carbon. One carbon credit is equal to one metric ton of carbon and is currently worth around $15.00. Forest management plans are geared toward increasing carbon sequestration over time. This study aims to educate forest landowners about various forest management practices that contribute to increasing carbon stocks by looking at various forest types and locations in SC and their current and projected carbon stocks. Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) data were utilized in the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) to project carbon sequestration for 100 years for 130 plots. A variety of management practices were employed to see the variance in carbon sequestration. Results showed that carbon sequestration would increase for certain management practices such as thinning and prescribed fire. Clear cutting over time was harmful to sequestration. This data will be beneficial for forest landowners interested in a carbon project and those interested in seeing how different management practices affect carbon sequestration

Water quality trading in Jordan Lake, North Carolina: economic, hydrological, behavioral, and ecological aspects

Includes bibliographical references.2015 Fall.I chose to use the three-manuscript option for my dissertation. The three topics addressed are related to water quality trading (WQT) in Jordan Lake, North Carolina. My goal was to advance our understanding of WQT programs and to provide practical, realistic information that policy makers in North Carolina could use in implementing the program in Jordan Lake, and other regions that may come along. Each topic and the resulting policy implications are relevant to stakeholders at the local and state levels. There is some redundancy in the articles, as each is written to stand alone and be submitted to an academic journal after my dissertation is finalized. Individual abstracts for each study follow: ECONOMIC PERAPECTIVE OF WATER QUALITY TRADING PROGRAM Nutrient pollution is a crucial issue for the Jordan Lake, NC. A WQT program is one of the main policies that have been suggested to address water quality, especially in the face of a rapidly growing urban sector that requires options to reduce its delivery of nutrients. Although a WQT program is appealing in theory, it has thus far failed to prove feasible in several attempts in the United States. This dissertation identifies and evaluates factors, called wedges that diminish the chance of WQT program’s success in Jordan Lake. The study shows why and how geographical, economic, and behavioral factors should be considered before implementing the emerging program in Jordan Lake. A unified economic model was designed to examine how economic and non-economic factors can undermine an ideal WQT market, and in many cases make it infeasible. PRODUCER PREMIUMS FOR WATER QUALITY TRADING Although most of the discussed wedges for a WQT program are focusing on the tangible factors, there are some intangible elements that impede the success of these programs. Lack of social trust between the involved parties in a WQT program and unfamiliarity on the part of participants with program details are examples of intangible wedges that can reduce the rate of participation. In this study, I measured farmers' intangible costs for participation. I dubbed intangible costs as an innovation premium. A survey was done in person in the Jordan Lake watershed. The amount of farmers' willingness to accept for participating in WQT program was elicited and computed. The results of the survey showed that farmers are willing to participate in a WQT program, but they require a very high innovation premium that is much higher than their best management practice installation costs. IMPACT OF RELATIVE EDMAND FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ON STACKING ECOSYSTEM CREDITS Consideration of the potential markets for ecosystem services raises intriguing questions about how such markets can and should interact with each other and what the implications of multiple markets are for cost and conservation objectives. Selling ecosystem service credits, along with other types of credits has been called credit stacking. I investigated the role of the demand for multiple types of credits with different attributes on ecosystem services stacking. I designed a credit staking market for total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) credit in a stacking framework for Jordan Lake, NC. The results showed that slope and intercept of TN and TP demand are playing profound roles in the success of a credit stacking program. In addition, if the credit stacking market is not coordinated, double-dipping can undermine its benefits. Double dipping is a situation when credit suppliers are getting paid more than they would without stacking, while they do not provide any additional credits

Estimating an Almost Ideal Demand System Model for Meats in Iran

This paper presents a dynamic form of the almost ideal demand system (AIDS). The static AIDS model was employed to determine long-run equilibrium model and represents the short-run dynamics by an error correction mechanism. This estimation procedure is applied to estimate three kinds of popular meats (red meat, chicken and fish) demand function in Iran. The estimated elasticities of red meat and chicken are found to be price elastic in the long run. While fish is price inelastic in the long run. Iranian government will remove all indirect and direct goods subsidies. It is suggested that government should be careful about chicken and red meat pricing policy to decreasing malnutrition after subsidy removal

An Analysis of Common Forest Management Practices for Carbon Sequestration in South Carolina

South Carolina (SC) has a variety of different forest types, and they all have potential to sequester a certain amount of carbon. Private forest landowners control a significant portion of the overall forestland in SC, and their management efforts can maintain or improve forest carbon stocks. Currently, the second largest carbon market in the world is the California Carbon Market, which gives a monetary value to sequestered carbon. One carbon credit is equal to one metric ton of carbon and is currently worth around $15.00. Forest management plans are geared toward increasing carbon sequestration over time. This study aims to educate forest landowners about various forest management practices that contribute to increasing carbon stocks by looking at various forest types and locations in SC and their current and projected carbon stocks. Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) data were utilized in the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) to project carbon sequestration for 100 years for 130 plots. A variety of management practices were employed to see the variance in carbon sequestration. Results showed that carbon sequestration would increase for certain management practices such as thinning and prescribed fire. Clear cutting over time was harmful to sequestration. This data will be beneficial for forest landowners interested in a carbon project and those interested in seeing how different management practices affect carbon sequestration

Cover Crop Education for Farmers in South Carolina

There are many perceived benefits and challenges when it comes to implementing cover crops in row crop systems. These perceptions are often based upon educational opportunities and experiences with cover crops and others who use cover crops. Through our research by surveying farmers in South Carolina, we aim to better understand the barriers to cover crop education and find the best methods to educate farmers on cover crops to increase the implementation rates

Factors Affecting Consumer Purchasing Decisions and Willingness to Pay for Oysters in South Carolina

South Carolina oyster producers are looking to expand into other sales channels and need more marketing data to support their efforts. A survey in the South Carolina marketing area (n = 1210) indicates that South Carolina oyster consumers tend to be younger, Caucasian, live in coastal counties, have higher household incomes, and prefer eating oysters at restaurants. Consumers willing to pay higher prices for oysters to eat at home tend to be younger, female, have higher household incomes, and are not Caucasian. Availability, price, and food safety concerns were the top three reasons preventing consumers from buying more oysters at restaurants