Benefit Transfer in the Field: Measuring the Benefits of Heterogeneous Wetlands using Contingent Valuation and Ecological Field Appraisals

Wetlands have functional values that may extend beyond traditional real estate values. This paper uses contingent valuation and ecological field assessments to place heterogeneous values on heterogeneous wetlands. Wetland functions evaluated are water quality, habitat, recreation, storing floodwaters and erosion abatement. The model used incorporates the public value of wetland functions and adds that value to the common local appraisal cost. We use a “percentage willingness-to-pay” value elicitation question in which respondents are asked about the percentage amount that the state government should pay over and above market value to purchase and preserve a wetland function. These values are then mapped into an ecological matrix to value the wetland as a whole. We show how these values can be applied in the field. Key Words: wetlands, appraisal, evaluation, mitigation, contingent valuation methodLength:

Linking Recreation Demand and Willingness to Pay with the Inclusive Value: Valuation of Saginaw Bay Coastal Marsh

In this paper we propose an alternative model for linking revealed preference and stated preference models of recreation when a single travel cost measure is difficult to obtain. We show that this model can be used to test convergent validity and offers an alternative scope test that does not rely on split-sample contingent valuation scenarios. Our results are mixed. In three of four models the inclusive value is negatively related to the willingness to donate but unrelated to the willingness to pay. This result suggests that recreation nonusers hold nonuse values while recreation users do not hold nonuse values.

Economic Values of Saginaw Bay Coastal Marshes

We estimate the economic values of Saginaw Bay coastal marshes with multiple methods. First we estimate the value of coastal marsh recreation with two variations of the travel cost method: the single-site recreation demand model and the recreation site selection or random utility model. Using the single site model the current level of day trip recreation in the Saginaw Bay coastal marsh area is valued at almost $16 million each year. The present value is$239 million. Using the site selection travel cost model, an increase in 1125 acres of coastal marsh is valued at about $94,000 annually. The present value is$1.83 million. Willingness to pay for recreation and other values of coastal marsh protection is estimated using the contingent valuation method. The annual value of protection of 1125 acres of coastal marsh is $113,000. The present value is$2.2 million.

Fish and Wildlife Markets Challenges and Emerging Opportunities (PowerPoint)

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Comprehensive genomic characterization defines human glioblastoma genes and core pathways

Human cancer cells typically harbour multiple chromosomal aberrations, nucleotide substitutions and epigenetic modifications that drive malignant transformation. The Cancer Genome Atlas ( TCGA) pilot project aims to assess the value of large- scale multi- dimensional analysis of these molecular characteristics in human cancer and to provide the data rapidly to the research community. Here we report the interim integrative analysis of DNA copy number, gene expression and DNA methylation aberrations in 206 glioblastomas - the most common type of primary adult brain cancer - and nucleotide sequence aberrations in 91 of the 206 glioblastomas. This analysis provides new insights into the roles of ERBB2, NF1 and TP53, uncovers frequent mutations of the phosphatidylinositol- 3- OH kinase regulatory subunit gene PIK3R1, and provides a network view of the pathways altered in the development of glioblastoma. Furthermore, integration of mutation, DNA methylation and clinical treatment data reveals a link between MGMT promoter methylation and a hypermutator phenotype consequent to mismatch repair deficiency in treated glioblastomas, an observation with potential clinical implications. Together, these findings establish the feasibility and power of TCGA, demonstrating that it can rapidly expand knowledge of the molecular basis of cancer