SCHOOL CHOICE IN RURAL GEORGIA: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Previous empirical studies of school choice have been at the national level, or have focussed on northeastern states. We estimate the demand for private education in rural Georgia, using proportion of private school attendance as an indicator variable. We find that income, tuition, race and school quality are important choice determinants. The results provide useful information for rural school administrators, and suggest that a tuition tax credit would have to be substantial to cause a significant exodus from public schools.School choice, Educational finance, Rural areas, Tuition tax credits, Public Economics,

THE ECONOMICS OF FLOW ENHANCEMENT VS. NUTRIENT CONTROLS IN MEETING WATER QUALITY STANDARDS

This paper explores the economics of using enhanced flow as part of a strategy to meet water quality standards. We begin by briefly sketching the relevant economic theory, which we then apply to a case study of a dissolved oxygen impaired stream segment in Georgia's Flint River Basin. Results show that meeting targeted water quality standards with strategies that include enhanced flow is significantly less costly than relying only on agricultural management practices.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Georgia Water: "A Public Resource Or A Commodity" What Are The Real Policy Questions?

In this paper we first address the question as to the strength of Georgia's commitment to protect public interests in the state's water resources as such commitments are expressed in existing laws. Comparing legislative declarations of state policy in Georgia with those in 36 other Eastern States, we find that none of the states have expressions of this commitment that would reasonably be regarded as more strongly stated than Georgia law. In conclusion, we find that Georgia water law currently recognizes the public's dependence on the state's water resources and its commitment to policies and programs that assure that water is used prudently for the maximum benefit of the people. Adding "public resource" language to the law would not substantively strengthen these existing policy declarations.Attention is then turned to the "water as a commodity" issue. We argue here that the "water as a commodity" issues is at best poorly framed. In our view debate in Georgia should center on alternatives for resolving the reallocation issue; it should focus on the question as to how Georgia is to strike a balance between private, competing use of water and public, non-competing uses of water (e.g., instream flows), and how this balance is to be adjusted over time in response to changes in social, environmental, and climatic conditions. When market mechanisms are considered as one of the means to achieve reallocation, evaluation of their effectiveness is dependent on a particular set of market institutions. Thus, being "for" or "against" markets makes no more sense that being "for" or "against" water use permits -- everything depends on the provisions and protections of specific laws and proposals. Working Paper # 2002-00

COSTS OF COASTAL HAZARDS: EVIDENCE FROM THE PROPERTY MARKET

A hedonic price model suggests that flooding and erosion hazards, and the actions taken against them, are major determinants of property values in American coastal areas. A zoning ordnance against new construction within the 60-year erosion hazard area would increase property values and perhaps conserve the coastal ecosystem.Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

EXPANDING THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM TO COVER COASTAL EROSION DAMAGE

The National Flood Insurance Program does not currently cover damage strictly attributable to coastal erosion. This paper uses the results of a nationwide survey of coastal property owners to estimate the demand for such insurance. We find that there is significant demand at prices in the range of current flood insurance premiums. Demand is influenced in the hypothesized way by increased measures of erosion risk as well as by insurance price and income.Land Economics/Use, Risk and Uncertainty,

AN ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF BEACH EROSION MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES

This paper examines the relative economic efficiency of three distinct beach erosion management policies — beach nourishment with shoreline armoring, beach nourishment without armoring, and shoreline retreat. The analysis focuses on (i) the recreational benefits of beaches, (ii) the property value effects of beach management, and (iii) the costs associated with the three management scenarios. Assuming the removal of shoreline armoring improves overall beach quality, beach nourishment with shoreline armoring is the least desirable of the three alternatives. The countervailing property losses under a retreat strategy are of the same order of magnitude as the foregone management costs when the beneficial effects of retreat — higher values of housing services for those houses not lost to erosion — are considered. The relative desirability of these alternative strategies depends upon the realized erosion rate and how management costs change over time.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

VALUING RISK-REDUCING INTERVENTIONS WITH HEDONIC MODELS: THE CASE OF EROSION PROTECTION

This article extends the literature on economic valuation of public interventions that reduce environmental risk. We consider the case where risk-reducing interventions have different characteristics than the risk proxies used in hedonic regressions. We then demonstrate the importance of these considerations by reexamining an existing analysis of shoreline protection where we estimate risk using a latent variables model. The results show substantially different and arguably more plausible results.Environmental Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty,

LABOR PRODUCTIVITY WITHIN THE AFRICAN AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLD: THE HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTION MODEL REVISITED

The benchmark concept is used to understand changes in farm household response to development dynamics. 1996-97 cropping seasons data from Cameroon is used to develop and test a "separate spheres" household model. Labor productivity for men and women is discussed, along with their implications for research and resource management policies.agriculture, labor productivity, gender, production, consumption, Consumer/Household Economics, Labor and Human Capital,

Valuing Ecosystem Quality through Environmental Indicators

Proceedings of the 1999 Georgia Water Resources Conference, March 30 and 31, Athens, Georgia.In response to the challenges facing the growing communities of the Upper Etowah River Basin, the proposed research will 1) explore the ability of indicators to capture individual preferences for environmental quality and 2) elicit individuals' willingness to make trade-offs. To complete the research objectives, a random sample of property owners in two counties of the Upper Etowah River Basin will be surveyed. Survey respondents are asked to make judgments about the desirability of hypothetical development scenarios based on differing levels of water quality and associated trade-offs.Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of TechnologyThis book was published by the Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2202 with partial funding provided by the U.S. Department of Interior, geological Survey, through the Georgia Water Research Insttitute as authorized by the Water Research Institutes Authorization Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-397). The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of the University of Georgia or the U.S. Geological Survey or the conference sponsors