Estimating optimal conservation in agricultural landscapes when costs and benefits of conservation measures are heterogeneous in space and over time

Designing agri-environmental schemes targeted at conservation poses the key question of how many financial resources should be allocated to address a particular aim such as the conservation of an endangered species. Economists can contribute to an answer by estimating the 'optimal level of species conservation'. This requires an assessment of the supply and the demand curve for conservation and a comparison of the two curves to identify the optimal conservation level. In a case study we estimate the optimal conservation level of Large Blue butterflies (protected by the EU Habitats Directive) in the region of Landau, Germany. The difference to other studies estimating optimal conservation is that a problem is addressed where costs and benefits of conservation measures are heterogeneous in space and over time. In our case study we find a corner solution where the highest proposed level of butterfly conservation is optimal. Although our results are specific to the area and species studied, the methodology is generally applicable to estimate how many financial resources should be allocated to conserve an endangered species in the context of agri-environmental schemes. --agri-environmental policy,biodiversity,optimal conservation,spatial heterogeneity,willingness-to-pay

Resistance of Abomasal Parasites to Common Anthelmintics in Small Ruminants in the Northeast

The abomasal worm of ruminants, Haemonchus contortus, is detrimental to Northeast sheep and goats. It is also often resistant to anthelmintics commonly used by sheep producers in Maine. We developed methods to assess response of these parasites to anthelmintics. Fecal samples from experimentally infected sheep in West Virginia and from two farms in Maine were used as sources of parasite ova and larvae in these experiments. Parasites were grown to the L3 stage, examined, and then studied using motility tests, Methylthiazol Tetrazolium (MTT) assays and spectrophotometry. Due to selection for resistance over time in Maine parasites, we expect anthelmintics to have a higher kill rate on parasites obtained from West Virginia than on parasites collected from Maine

A model-based approach for designing cost-effective compensation payments for conservation of endangered species in real landscapes

An approach is present which integrates an economic and an ecological model for designing cost-effective compensation payments for conservation of endangered species in real landscapes. The approach is used to develop a cost-effective compensation payment scheme for conservation of an endangered butterfly species (Maculinea teleius) protected by the EU Habitats Directive in the region of Landau, Germany. The economic model determines the costs of relevant conservation measures mowing meadows at different times and frequencies - and the ecological model quantifies the effects of these mowing regimes on the butterfly population. By comparing the ecological effects of different mowing regimes, the cost-effective regime and the corresponding payments are determined as a function of the conservation budget. The results of the case study are used to analyse the effect of metapopulation dynamics on the cost-effectiveness of compensation payment schemes, to evaluate an existing scheme in the region of Landau and to draw conclusions for the institutional design of payment schemes. --Conservation,biodiversity,metapopulation,cost-effectiveness,ecological-economic modelling

The effect of cigarette taxes during pregnancy on educational outcomes of the next generation

Smoking during pregnancy is most common among women with a low socioeconomic status and is negatively associated with important infant health measures such as birth weight. Cigarette taxes decrease smoking amongst pregnant women, thereby leading to improved birth outcomes. In this paper we investigate whether increasing cigarette taxes can reduce the intergenerational transmission of a low socioeconomic status by reducing smoking rates among pregnant women with low educational attainment. In a first step, we exploit variation in cigarette taxes across U.S. states over time to show that increasing cigarette taxes leads to improvements in the health of newborns which are larger for babies of low educated mothers. In a second step, we look at subsequent educational success of 16-year-olds measured by grade retention and school enrollment in a large sample of adolescents. We find that increasing cigarette taxes improves the outcomes of children from a low socioeconomic background, but find no effects among children from a higher socioeconomic background. Our findings therefore suggest that cigarette taxes can be an effective policy instrument for mitigating the propagation of a low socioeconomic status from one generation to the next

Bee conservation: inclusive solutions

Conservation Biolog

Estimating optimal conservation in agricultural landscapes when costs and benefits of conservation measures are heterogeneous in space and over time

Designing agri-environmental schemes targeted at conservation poses the key question of how many financial resources should be allocated to address a particular aim such as the conservation of an endangered species. Economists can contribute to an answer by estimating the 'optimal level of species conservation'. This requires an assessment of the supply and the demand curve for conservation and a comparison of the two curves to identify the optimal conservation level. In a case study we estimate the optimal conservation level of Large Blue butterflies (protected by the EU Habitats Directive) in the region of Landau, Germany. The difference to other studies estimating optimal conservation is that a problem is addressed where costs and benefits of conservation measures are heterogeneous in space and over time. In our case study we find a corner solution where the highest proposed level of butterfly conservation is optimal. Although our results are specific to the area and species studied, the methodology is generally applicable to estimate how many financial resources should be allocated to conserve an endangered species in the context of agri-environmental schemes

Rechtliche Grundlegungen der Arbeitsmigration nach Deutschland und Österreich in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts

Dieser Essay beschäftigt sich mit den gesetzlichen Grundlagen der vor gut 50 Jahren einsetzenden Arbeitsmigration in die Bundesrepublik Deutschland sowie nach Österreich. Drei zentrale Leitfragen bilden das Gerüst der Untersuchung: Zu Beginn wird geklärt, wer wann welche rechtlichen Grundlagen schuf. In diesem ersten Schritt wird versucht, neben den Inhalten auch die hinter den Rechtsetzungen stehenden Intentionen und Akteure nachzuzeichnen. Daran anknüpfend wird Ausschau nach historischen Kontinuitäten gehalten, die einen Ansatzpunkt für eine postkoloniale Betrachtungsweise – hier verstanden als herrschaftskritische Rahmung – liefern könnten. Im abschließenden dritten Schritt wird die Diskrepanz zwischen den Rechtsnormen und ihrer Wirklichkeit ausgeleuchtet, um neben dem normativ-ideologischen Blick das Gespür für die wirtschaftspolitischen Triebfedern und die Lebensrealität dieses Zeitgeschehens zu schärfen

Dorothea Rust: Floating Gaps. Affektive Politiken von Performance-Kunst zwischen Erinnerung und Ereignis

Dorothea Rust: Floating Gaps. Affective politics of performance art between recall and happeningPerformance art today takes place on an ambiguous site: close to everyday life, yet relying on a range of predecessors, it should be aware of recalling existing bodies and images and of anticipated forms of acting. Not simply reminiscent, performance art may also offer opportunities for actualizing and shifting these images. This essay examines how these processes of iteration could give way to alternative performance histories written by performance. It contextualizes this idea with reference to reflections on an aesthetics of affect that maintains a certain sense of reflection. The example discussed is Floating Gaps (2012) by the Swiss choreographer and artist Dorothea Rust, who approaches performance as a “historiographic tool” and as a means of figurative citation and “practical theory.