ECONOMISTS AND THE RESOLUTION OF NATURAL RESOURCE USE CONFLICTS

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

EMPIRICAL TAXONOMY OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICAL ARCHETYPES

Economists usually assume that the private ethical system of individuals is Utilitarian. However, one finds a much broader range of ethical positions in the environmental ethics literature. Moreover, environmental policy debates seem to elicit alternative ethical systems. It would therefore seem prudent to increase our understanding of the role played by alternative environmental ethical systems. In this study we follow some descriptive ethical studies in examining the empirical ethical position of people based on a broad cross section of the American public. We review some taxonomic literature in environmental ethics and develop a conceptual model of the formation of environmental values. We then use canonical correlation to investigate the existence of environmental values and their relationship to childhood experiences. We find four ethical systems linked to four different "types" of people. One of the ethical systems is decidedly spiritual and one seems rather ill-defined or indifferent towards nature. The other two systems show anthropocentric values, one more conservation minded, one more use minded.Environmental Economics and Policy,

A SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF QUALITY OF LIFE INDICES ACROSS COUNTRIES

This paper attempts to provide a comprehensive analysis of interrelationships among the determinants of the Quality of Life (QOL). We show that various measures of well-being are highly sensitive to domains of QOL that are considered in the construction of comparative indices, and how measurable inputs into the well-being indicators are aggregated and weighted to arrive at composite measures of QOL. We present a picture of conditions among the 43 countries of the world with respect to such interrelated domains of QOL as the relationship with family and friends, emotional well-being, health, work and productivity, material well-being, feeling part of one's community, personal safety, and the quality of environment. On the basis of Borda Rule and the principal components approach, we search for factor-indices that may function as QOL indices comparatively across countries. Such indices can be useful in making QOL comparisons and evaluations with reference to both time and place. Comparing and analyzing well-being conditions among countries in this way are aimed at facilitating the discovery of extant of problems with government policies impacting QOL.quality of life, domains, Borda rule, principal components, and rankings, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, I31, D60, D63,

Permanent Housing for Seasonal Workers? A Generalized Peak Load Investment Model for Farm Worker Housing

Many seasonal workers are housed in transitory accommodations, including tents and vehicles. In this study, we analyze the supply side of this problem by assuming that a public agent must house the workers through direct public investment. A peak load model is adapted to develop investment rules for the least-cost provision of seasonal worker housing, adding an interacting multi-season component to existing models. Based on this model and the data from three prototype projects, the majority of the least-cost investment would be in permanent, but seasonally occupied, housing.farmworker housing, investment rules, peak load model, public housing, seasonal labor, Farm Management, Labor and Human Capital, Public Economics, R31, H75, J43, G31,

Biofuel policy for the pursuit of multiple goals: The case of Washington State

Agricultural and Food Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

VALUING IDAHO WINERIES WITH A TRAVEL COST MODEL

Many commercial wineries produce a dual product; commercial wine and wine tourism. Growth of wine tourism throughout the US has been phenomenal. In contrast to the price of wine, which is reflected in the market, the demand for wine tourism can be only ascertained with a shadow price for winery visitation. The demand for wine tourism visits for Canyon County in southern Idaho was estimated using the Travel Cost Method. The value of wine tourism in Canyon County was estimated to be $5.40 per person per trip and trip demand was highly inelastic at 0.5. Elasticities of other trip demand function variables were estimated and analyzed, with a view to informing the marketing of Idaho's emerging wine tourism industry.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Crop Production/Industries,

The Demand for Wine Tourism in Canyon County, Idaho

Many commercial wineries produce a dual product: commercial wine and wine tourism. Since Idaho wineries charge no entry price, wine tourism demand can only be ascertained with a shadow price for winery visitation. Demand for wine tourism visits for Canyon County in southern Idaho was estimated using the travel cost method. Trip demand was inelastic (-0.4 to -0.6) with respect to own price. The average value of Canyon County wine tourism ranged from $6 to$12 per person per trip, depending upon the assumed opportunity cost of travel time. Elasticities of tastes and preferences, closely related goods, and income were estimated with a view to understanding the market for Idaho's emerging wine tourism industry.Travel cost model, Wine tourism, Wine marketing, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Perceived Water Prices and Estimated Water Demand in the Residential Sector of Windhoek, Namibia. An Analysis of the Different Water Market Segments

We develop a demand model for the water market of Windhoek, Namibia, and segment the market by income. The model uses the perceived price concept developed by Shin (1985). Results confirm the Shin hypotheses that consumers dont know actual prices, but respond to perceived prices. The average price and covariates have the expected signs. However, marginal price (MP) coefficient is positive. Shins perception parameter (k) is negative in two of three income segments. In the Shin model, this implies that consumers respond to MP (through perceived prices). Ambiguities about prices warrant further investigation.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The Contribution of the Grape and Wine Industry to Idaho’s Economy: Agribusiness and Tourism Impacts

The impact of Idaho’s wine and grape industry was assessed as an agribusiness and as a tourist industry. Idaho’s grape and wine industry is in its infancy, with wine sales of $15 million from 15 wineries and growers cultivating about 1,000 acres, primarily in southwestern Idaho’s Canyon County. Synthesized output multipliers for wine tourism were virtually identical to the agribusiness output multipliers (1.86 and 2.10 for Canyon County and the state of Idaho, respectively). The wine and grape industry’s agribusiness impact is$15 million in sales and 120 jobs in Idaho, and $23 million and 140 jobs for Canyon County. In contrast, tourism expenditures stimulate other businesses in addition to the agribusiness linkages of grape and wine production. Thus, only about three-fourths of the current wine production would be required to be sold to out-of-region tourists to equal the impact of the wine and grape industry as an agribusiness industry.Idaho, impact analysis, input/output models, tourism, wine, wine agribusiness, Agribusiness, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

U.S. Grass-Fed Beef: Marketing Health Benefits

Grass-fed beef is a product with health benefits that may appeal to health-conscious consumers. This article analyzes the results of a choice experiment to explore the importance of health benefits in the marketing of grass fed beef. Both price and fat and calories have a negative effect on the choice of the product, and higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids have a positive effect. Price is the most important attribute to respondents (39.5%), a low level of fat and calories is the second most important attribute (36.9%), and the level of omega-3 fatty acids is the least important of these factors (23.6%).Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,