2,579 research outputs found

    Applying Optimization and the Analytic Hierarchy Process to Enhance Agricultural Preservation Strategies in the State of Delaware

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    Using agricultural preservation priorities derived from an analytical hierarchy process by 23 conservation experts from 18 agencies in the state of Delaware, this research uses weighted benefit measures to evaluate the historical success of Delaware’s agricultural protection fund, which spent nearly 100millioninitsfirstdecade.Thisresearchdemonstrateshowtheseoperationresearchtechniquescanbeusedinconcerttoaddressrelevantconservationquestions.Resultssuggestthatthestatessealedbidofferauction,whichdeterminestheyearlyconservationselections,issuperiortobenefittargetingapproachesfrequentlyemployedbyconservationorganizations,butisinferiortotheoptimizationtechniqueofbinarylinearprogrammingthatcouldhaveprovidedadditionalbenefitstothestate,suchas12,000additionalacresworthanestimated100 million in its first decade. This research demonstrates how these operation research techniques can be used in concert to address relevant conservation questions. Results suggest that the state’s sealed-bid-offer auction, which determines the yearly conservation selections, is superior to benefit-targeting approaches frequently employed by conservation organizations, but is inferior to the optimization technique of binary linear programming that could have provided additional benefits to the state, such as 12,000 additional acres worth an estimated 25 million.conservation optimization, farmland protection, analytic hierarchy process, binary linear programming, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

    "Integrating Optimization and Strategic Conservation to Achieve Higher Efficiencies in Land Protection"

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    Strategic land conservation seeks to select the highest quality lands given limited financial resources. Traditionally conservation officials implement strategic conservation by creating prioritization maps that attempt to identify the lands of highest ecological value or public value from a resource perspective. This paper describes the history of using optimization in strategic conservation and demonstrates how the combination of these approaches can significantly strengthen conservation efforts by making these programs more efficient with public monies.Mathematical Programming, Conservation Optimization, Cost Effectiveness Analysis, Strategic Conservation

    The Value of Private Risk Versus the Value of Public Risk: An Experimental Analysis of the Johannesson et al. Conjecture

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    In 1996 Johannesson et al. published a paper in this journal entitled “The Value of Private Safety versus the Value of Public Safety.” Based on preliminary evidence from a hypothetical contingent valuation study, these authors argue that consumers behave as “pure altruists” and reject the notion of paternalistic preferences for safety in a coercive tax setting. These pure altruists consider the cost of a program that might be imposed on other voters when they decide whether to vote for or against public safety programs. The authors conclude that further empirical research in this area is warranted. This paper presents a set of laboratory economics experiments to test Johannesson et al.’s conjecture under controlled conditions in which participants face an actual risk of financial loss. The laboratory results extend those of Johannesson et al., providing strong evidence of pure altruism but limited support for paternalistic altruism for risk.Altruism, risk, voting, public goods, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, D81, D64, H41, C91, C92, D72,

    Voluntary Funding for Generic Advertising Using a Provision Point Mechanism: An Experimental Analysis of Option Assurance

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    The mandatory nature of generic advertising funding remains a contentious issue. Theoretically and in laboratory environments, a provision point mechanism with a money-back guarantee offers an attractive voluntary alternative to the standard voluntary contribution mechanisms, yet in practice, few examples of multiple-round provision point mechanisms exist. A practical concern with applying these mechanisms is that even a slight shortfall in contributions relative to the designated funding threshold in one period would engender an irreversible shutdown of administrative capacity with negative consequences for subsequent periods. This paper uses experimental economics to test new two-threshold provision point mechanisms in the context of check-off programs for funding commodity marketing programs that would separately fund the minimum administrative capacity and the more costly full marketing program. In these mechanisms, even if a funding shortfall occurs for the full marketing program, the low threshold can maintain the administrative capacity and retain the option for future funding of advertising. We demonstrate that providing such "option assurance" does not lead to a decrease in overall contributions and, in some settings, can increase producer surplus.Marketing,

    PURE ALTRUISM AND THE VALUATION OF RISK: AN EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF THE JOHANNESSON ET AL. CONJECTURE

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    Johannesson et al.(1996) conjecture that in a coercive, uniform tax setting like dichotomous choice contingent valuation, willingness to pay for public programs would be affected by altruistic consideration of the costs imposed on others. Using a voting-BDM elicitation mechanism, we demonstrate such valuation petterns in an experimental economics setting.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

    A Literature Review of Wetland Treatment Systems Used to Treat Runoff Mixtures Containing Antibiotics and Pesticides from Urban and Agricultural Landscapes

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    Wetland treatment systems are used extensively across the world to mitigate surface runoff. While wetland treatment for nitrogen mitigation has been comprehensively reviewed, the implications of common-use pesticides and antibiotics on nitrogen reduction remain relatively unreviewed. Therefore, this review seeks to comprehensively assess the removal of commonly used pesticides and antibiotics and their implications for nitrogen removal in wetland treatment systems receiving non-point source runoff from urban and agricultural landscapes. A total of 181 primary studies were identified spanning 37 countries. Most of the reviewed publications studied pesticides (n = 153) entering wetlands systems, while antibiotics (n = 29) had fewer publications. Even fewer publications reviewed the impact of influent mixtures on nitrogen removal processes in wetlands (n = 16). Removal efficiencies for antibiotics (35–100%), pesticides (−619–100%), and nitrate-nitrogen (−113–100%) varied widely across the studies, with pesticides and antibiotics impacting microbial communities, the presence and type of vegetation, timing, and hydrology in wetland ecosystems. However, implications for the nitrogen cycle were dependent on the specific emerging contaminant present. A significant knowledge gap remains in how wetland treatment systems are used to treat non-point source mixtures that contain nutrients, pesticides, and antibiotics, resulting in an unknown regarding nitrogen removal efficiency as runoff contaminant mixtures evolve

    Social Preferences and Voting: An Exploration Using a Novel Preference Revealing Mechanism

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    Public referenda are frequently used to determine the provision of public goods. As public programs have distributional consequences, a compelling question is what role if any social preferences have on voting behavior. This paper explores this issue using laboratory experiments wherein voting outcomes lead to a known distribution of net benefits across participants. Preferences are elicited using a novel Random Price Voting Mechanism (RPVM), which is a more parsimonious mechanism than dichotomous choice referenda, but gives consistent results. Results suggest that social preferences, in particular a social efficiency motive, lead to economically meaningful deviations from self-interested voting choices and increase the likelihood that welfare-enhancing programs are implemented.Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, C91, C92, D64, D72, H41,
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