Estimating the economic benefits of regional ocean observing systems

We develop a methodology to estimate the potential economic benefits from new investments in regional coastal ocean observing systems in US waters, and apply this methodology to generate preliminary estimates of such benefits. The approach focuses on potential economic benefits from coastal ocean observing information within ten geographic regions encompassing all coastal waters of the United States, and within a wide range of industrial and recreational activities including recreational fishing and boating, beach recreation, maritime transportation, search and rescue operations, spill response, marine hazards prediction, offshore energy, power generation, and commercial fishing. Our findings suggest that annual benefits to users from the deployment of ocean observing systems are likely to run in the multiple $100s of millions of dollars per year. The project results should be considered first-order estimates that are subject to considerable refinement as the parameters of regional observing systems are better defined, and as our understanding of user sectors improves.Funding was provided by the Office of Naval Research under Grant No. N00014-02-1-1037

Mode Choice, Commuting Cost, and Urban Household Behavior

In this paper, we extend the partial equilibrium urban model of DeSalvo (1985) to include mode choice. DeSalvo demonstrated that the urban model of Muth (1969) was robust to the extension to leisure choice. We show that the model is robust to mode choice as well. In addition, we derive the comparative static results that commuters choose higher speed modes for longer commutes, at higher wage rates, with greater tastes for housing, and with lower housing prices. Also, for a given distance commuted, we derive the comparative static result that commuters chose shorter duration commutes at higher wage rates. Whereas it is typically assumed that marginal commuting cost is positive and non-increasing with distance, we derive these results. Moreover, we derive the results that marginal commuting cost rises with an exogenous increase in housing price and falls with increased tastes for housing. We also explore the effects of exogenous commuting-cost changes on the endogenous variables of the model. The remaining comparative static results on housing consumption and location are qualitatively the same as in DeSalvo. Copyright Blackwell Publishers, 2005