SOME IMPLICATIONS OF LABOR ADJUSTMENTS IN A DUAL ECONOMY FRAMEWORK: WYOMING'S ENERGY-AGRICULTURE INTERFACE

Labor and Human Capital,

DEFINING THE 'SAVING' IN AGRICULTURE WATER WHEN IRRIGATION TECHNOLOGY IS A CHOICE VARIABLE: THE CASE OF THE KLAMATH BASIN

Increasing demand for water in the environment has increased the cost of irrigation water in agriculture leading to the adoption of water saving irrigation technologies, reducing agricultural return flows. However, when agricultural return flows are a source of environmental supply 'savings' soon disappear because of the reduced agricultural return flowsResource /Energy Economics and Policy,

MICRO VERSUS MACRO ACREAGE RESPONSE MODELS: DOES SITE-SPECIFIC INFORMATION MATTER?

Because requisite micro data frequently are unavailable, it is common practice to use aggregate data to estimate economic relationships representing the behavior of individual agents. A substantial body of literature has examined conditions under which inferences between micro and aggregate specifications can be made. Less attention has been focused on the relative accuracy of predictions for each scale of model. In an empirical application, we compare the goodness-of-fit measures of eight sets of acreage response models, varying in aggregation from field- (micro-) level to regional- (macro-) level models. Results suggest aggregate models are superior to the micro model in predicting acreage response, even thought the micro models contain substantially more data on site-specific characteristics.Agribusiness,

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE WEST

Environmental Economics and Policy,

Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources

Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q25, Q54,

The persistence of drought impacts across growing seasons: a dynamic stochastic analysis

Agricultural producers throughout much of the United States experienced one of the most severe droughts in the last 100 years during the years 1999-2006. The prolonged nature of this drought highlights a need to better understand the impacts and management of drought across growing seasons, rather than just within a growing season. Producers express specific concern about the tendency of drought impacts to persist even after drought itself has subsided. The persistence of drought impacts has received limited attention in the economics literature. The objectives of this study are two-fold: 1) to determine whether inter-year dynamics, in the form of agronomic constraints and financial flows, can cause persistence of a drought's impact in years subsequent to the drought, and 2) to determine whether the impact of one year of drought can alter the impact of a subsequent year of drought. A multi-year, dynamic and stochastic decision model is developed in a discrete stochastic programming framework and solved to address the objectives. The structure and parameters of the farm-level model are based on irrigated row crop farms in eastern Oregon, USA. Analysis of the model's solution reveals the following results: 1) the impact of a drought can persist long after the drought subsides, and 2) the impact of one year of drought can alter the impact of a subsequent year of drought. Potential implications for the administration of drought-related assistance are discussed briefly.Drought, preparedness, response, uncertainty, dynamics, discrete stochastic programming, agriculture, irrigation, eastern Oregon, row crops, crop rotation, Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

Improving the Efficiency of Wildlife Management: An Application to Waterfowl Production in the Prairie Pothole Region

Wildlife management agencies increasingly use economic analyses to improve the efficiency of their management policies. Few economic studies consider supply-side analyses for wildlife management, due, in part, to a lack of biological response data that capture the full range of management strategies and the influence of landscape characteristics. This paper uses a simulation model to generate biological response functions, which are then embedded within an economic model to determine least cost management strategies. The procedure is applied to waterfowl management in the Prairie Pothole Region of the northern Great Plains. Results highlight management inefficiencies that result from oversimplified response functions that do not account for non-linear relationships or spatial heterogeneity. Results also indicate that intensive management activities, which are generally compatible with agricultural land use, are a cost effective means of achieving waterfowl population objectives. This has important implications for the tradeoff between agricultural and waterfowl production in the Prairie Pothole Region.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

On the Marginal Value of a Fish: Some Evidence from a Steelhead Fishery

Policymakers and other interested parties frequently request information on the recreational value of a fish. Although fishing valuation studies date back at least 25 years, most studies focus on the average value of a fish. If the purpose of such estimates is to measure the value of incremental changes in fish numbers, then use of average estimates may lead to an incorrect policy decisions. The objective of this analysis is to estimate the marginal value of a steelhead trout in a recreational fishery on the John Day River of Oregon. The study uses contingent valuation procedures to elicit willingness to pay estimates for improvements in fish numbers and success rates. For the anglers in this survey, the value of an additional steelhead is $6.65 under current catch conditions. This value is much lower than values currently used in public debates in the Pacific Northwest, but similar to some marginal values reported in the recent literature. Implications of these values relative to average values are discussed.Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

EFFICIENT PATTERNS OF CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES IN A WATERSHED: THE CASE OF THE GRANDE RONDE RIVER, OREGON

This research examines a spatially explicit allocation of habitat restoration activities in an Oregon watershed to meet water temperature targets for the benefit of endangered salmonid fish species. Integrating hydrological, biological and economic models, a series of optimization problems are investigated for different policy targets including temperature reductions and enhanced fish populations. Results indicated that the heterogeneous nature of riparian conditions and stream morphology needs to be considered if restoration activities are to be allocated efficiently in a watershed. We also found that it is less costly to implement restoration activities in tributaries if the objective is to maximize stream length where water temperatures decrease by a certain degree. Although temperature reductions are primarily achieved by shading in nearby reaches, if a desired level of temperature reductions increases, then it is necessary to apply restoration efforts in remote reaches.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Federal Procedure - Venue - Right of Alien Under Diversity of Citizenship Clause of 28 U.S.C. § 1391 (a)

Plaintiff, a citizen of France and resident of New York City, sought a declaratory judgment and restraining order against several defendants residing in different states. On the theory that a suit involving a citizen of France and citizens of the United States constituted diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C. § 1391 (a), and therefore could be brought where all of the plaintiffs or all of the defendants resided, the action was laid in the federal district court of New York where the plaintiff resided. Defendant moved for dismissal on the ground that this was alienage, not diversity of citizenship as intended under the code, and consequently the suit could not be brought in the district of the plaintiff\u27s residence. Held, motion sustained. By the words diversity of citizenship the legislature did not intend to change the old rule that aliens could sue only in the judicial district where all of the defendants resided. Because all of the defendants did not reside in the same district, several would have to be dropped or the case dismissed. Du Roure v. Alvord, (D.C. N.Y. 1954) 120 F. Supp. 166