Redistributional Effects of the National Flood Insurance Program

This study examines the redistributional effects of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) using a national database of premium, coverage, and claim payments at the county level between 1980 and 2006. Measuring progressivity as the departure from per capita county income proportionality we find that NFIP premiums are weakly regressive on an annual basis but become proportional as the time horizon is extended beyond a single year. In contrast, we find that NFIP claim payments are moderately progressive over all time horizons studied. In sum, we find no evidence that the NFIP disproportionally advantages richer counties.NFIP, progressivity, departure from proportionality

Measuring the Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Marine Recreational Shore Fishing in North Carolina

We develop estimates of the economic effects of sea level rise on marine recreational shore fishing in North Carolina. We estimate the relationship between angler behavior and spatial differences in beach width using the Marine Recreational Fishing Statistics Survey and geospatial data. We exploit the empirical relationship between beach width and site choice by simulating the effects of (1) sea level rise on beach width and (2) beach width on angler site choice. We find that the welfare losses are potentially substantial, ranging up to a present value of $1.26 billion over 75 years. Key Words: marine recreational fishing, travel cost method, climate change, sea level rise

Spatial Hedonic Models for Measuring the Impact of Sea-Level Rise on Coastal Real Estate

This study uses a unique integration of geospatial and hedonic property data to estimate the impact of sea-level rise on coastal real estate in North Carolina. North Carolina’s coastal plain is one of several large terrestrial systems around the world threatened by rising sea-levels. High-resolution topographic LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data are used to provide accurate inundation maps for all properties that will be at risk under six different sea-level rise scenarios. A simulation approach based on spatial hedonic models is used to provide consistent estimates of the property value losses. Results indicate that the northern part of the North Carolina coastline is comparatively more vulnerable to the effect of sea-level rise than the southern part. Low-lying and heavily developed areas in the northern coastline are especially at high risk from sea-level rise. Key Words: Climate change, coastal real estate, sea-level rise, spatial hedonic models

Some Consumer Surplus Estimates for North Carolina Beaches

We estimate consumer surplus of a beach day using the single-site travel cost method. Onsite visitation data for seven North Carolina beaches were collected between July and November of 2003. Two pooled count data models, corrected for endogenous stratification and truncation, are estimated to account for bias stemming from onsite sampling. One model pertains to beach visitors that make single day trips to the beach, while the other is for visitors that stay onsite overnight. In each model, we allow for heterogeneity across sites through intercept-shifting and demand slope-shifting dummy variables. Depending upon the site, the estimated net benefits of a day at a beach in North Carolina range between $11 and$80 for those users making day trips and between $11 and$41 for those users that stay onsite overnight. These estimates are of the same order of magnitude as the results from earlier studies using travel cost methods but are considerably larger than the previous findings based upon stated preference methods.travel cost, consumer surplus, beach access, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, D12, D63, H31, Q26,

Going Home: Evacuation-Migration Decisions of Hurricane Katrina Survivors

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many evacuees from the Gulf region began the difficult process of deciding whether to rebuild or restart elsewhere. We examine pre-Katrina Gulf residents’ decision to return to the post-disaster Gulf region—which we call the “return migration” decision. We estimate two separate return migration models, first utilizing data from a mail survey of individuals in the affected region and then focusing on self-administered questionnaires of evacuees in Houston. Our results indicate that return migration can be affected by household income; age; education level; employment, marital and home ownership status; but the results depend upon the population under consideration. We find no impact of “connection to place” on the return migration decision. While the impact of income is relatively small, we find that the real wage differential between home and host region influences the likelihood of return. Larger implicit costs, in terms of foregone wages for returning, induce a lower likelihood of return. Exploiting this difference at the individual level, we are able to produce estimates of willingness to pay to return home. Average WTP to return home for a sample of relatively poor households is estimated at $1.94 per hour or$3,954 per year.

A semiparametric hedonic model for valuing wetlands

A semiparametric hedonic price function is estimated to examine the effects of proximity to wetlands on property values using extensive wetland inventory and housing market data from Portland-Oregon, USA. The semiparametric method used in this study allows for estimation of the hedonic price function with flexible functional form and is computationally easier than most non-parametric models. Four general categories of wetlands - open water, emergent vegetation, forested and scrub shrub wetlands - are differentiated. The results indicate that proximity to open water wetlands has a positive association with property values, while the other types of wetlands have either a negative or insignificant relationship.

Evidence on the Amenity Value of Wetlands in a Rural Setting

This study uses a hedonic property price method to estimate how wetlands affect residential property values in a rural area. The study utilizes wetland inventory data coupled with extensive property sales records between January 2000 and September 2004 from Carteret County, NC. Our results indicate that i) a higher wetland percentage within a quarter mile of a property, ii) closer proximity to the nearest wetland, and iii) larger size of the nearest wetland are associated with lower residential property values. These results contrast with previous hedonic studies that use data from urban areas, which found positive associations between wetland and property values. The amenity value of wetlands appears to depend at least as much on the characteristics of the area being considered as it does on the characteristics of the wetlands