Combining ecological and recreational aspects in national park management: A choice experiment application

Increasing pressure to diversify development of national parks emphasizes the need for new and relevant information for park management decisions. In this paper, we use choice experiment to value different tradeoffs that evolved in park development scenarios. Specifically, we examine which kind of development profiles are worth considering and which paths not to follow. We focus on biodiversity and recreational services provided by Oulanka National Park in Finland, which represents a popular recreation site attracting a large number of visitors. The increase of biodiversity was the most highly valued feature by the respondent national park visitors. Thus, our results show that the protection of biodiversity and recreational and tourism use of national parks can cause conflicting welfare effects if managed in inappropriate ways. Increasing the number of visitors, expanding present resting places, constructing new resting places and an intense increase in information boards, especially if combined with shrinking biodiversity, are welfare reducing managerial actions in national parks.     

Valuing environmental and health risk in agriculture: A choice experiment approach to pesticides in Italy

The widespread use of pesticides in agriculture shows a complex ramification of multiple negative externalities, ranging from food safety-related effects to the deterioration of farmland ecosystems. Recent research has demonstrated that the assessment of the economic implications of such negative processes is fraught with many uncertainties. This paper presents the results of an empirical study recently conducted in Northern Italy aimed at estimating the economic value of reducing the wide-ranging impacts of pesticide use, by deploying a Choice Experiment approach. The experimental design provides a meaningful tool to assign monetary values to the negative environmental effects associated with agrochemicals use. In this connection, the paper addresses in particular the reduction of farmland biodiversity, groundwater contamination and harm to human health. The resulting estimates confirm that, on average, respondents demonstrate a substantial willingness-to-pay a premium for agricultural goods (in particular, foodstuffs) produced in environmentally-benign ways.     

Measuring the effects of preservation on farm profits in a continuous treatment setting

Despite billions of dollars of public appropriations to state purchase of development rights (PDR) programmes, there has been limited evaluation of the effects of these investments on the economic performance of preserved farms. This article estimates dose-response functions to evaluate the effects of enrolment in New Jersey’s PDR programme on farm profitability. The generalized propensity score method in a continuous treatment setting is used to address selection bias arising from voluntary programme participation. Treatment effects are measured across treatment levels to determine whether farm profitability is affected differently across levels of programme participation. Our findings reveal that, relative to unpreserved farms, profit per acre tends to increase along lower treatment levels. The profit per acre of preserved farms in the 1–40% treatment range is, on average, $407 higher than that of unpreserved farms in the full sample. Positive profit differentials averaging between $317 and $472 per acre are also observed in the 1–20%, 1–40% and 1–60% treatment quintiles in the farming occupation sample. We do not observe statistically significant profitability differentials when treatment effects are averaged across all positive treatment values.     

In search of marginal environmental valuations — ecosystem services in Finnish forest accounting

There is currently substantial interest in valuing various services provided by different ecosystems. Concurrently economists have ascribed substantial effort on expanding traditional forest accounting systems by environmental services. This paper contributes to curtailing the existing gap between green accounting theory and applications for valuing forest ecosystem services. The multitude of links between forest ecosystem services and economy are characterized by the theoretical model for forest-economy interactions. By utilizing recently updated data we also incorporate empirical value estimates of these services comparable to other goods into Finnish forest accounting system. Finally, we discuss some problems encountered and clarify the interpretation of some value estimates incorporated to national forest account.     

Willingness to accept compensation for the environmental risks of oil transport on the Amazon: A choice modeling experiment

This paper looks at the question of whether subsistence level/indigenous people place a value on the preservation of ecosystems independent of direct impacts of environmental change, such as impacts on their production activities. The economics literature generally suggests that non-use values don't exist among the poor and in the informal sector of the economy. We examine this issue through a choice modeling experiment. A survey was conducted of rainforest communities who live on the banks of the Amazon River (Rio Solimões), in the vicinity of proposed oil and gas pipelines. The data were analyzed in the choice modeling framework, revealing relatively high amounts of compensation that were necessary in order to accept the potential ecosystem damages associated with oil transport, even if the people were completely compensated for direct damages such as loss of access to productive resources. These results suggest that environmental quality is important for its own sake, a result that is very different from the implicit assumption among many economists.     

Estimation of the public benefits of urban water supply improvements in Ethiopia: a choice experiment

Improving existing drinking water supply services in developing countries depends crucially on available financial resources. Cost recovery rates of these services are typically low, while demand for more reliable services is high and rapidly growing. Most stated preference-based demand studies in the developing world apply the contingent valuation method and focus on rural areas. This study examines household Willingness to Pay (WTP) for improved water supply services in a choice experiment in an urban area in Ethiopia, a country with the lowest water supply coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa. The design of the choice experiment allows estimation of the value of both drinking water supply reliability and safety. The estimated economic values can be used in policy appraisals of improved supply investment decisions. Despite significant income constraints, households are willing to pay up to 80% extra for improved levels of water supply over and above their current water bill. Women and households living in the poorest part of the city with the lowest service levels value the improvement of water quality most. As expected, also averting behaviour and expenditures play an important role.     

A discrete choice experiment to determine UK patient preference for attributes of disease modifying treatments in Multiple Sclerosis

Aims: The recent licensing of Disease Modifying Treatments (DMTs) for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has increased available treatment options. The aim of this study was to explore MS patients’ preference for the different attributes of DMTs in the UK.

Materials and methods: Attributes (treatment characteristics) for inclusion in the discrete choice experiment (DCE) were determined through published literature and interviews with 12 people with MS. Seven attributes were selected. Participants were presented with three hypothetical treatment options sampled from included attributes and asked for their most/least preferred options. The influence of patient characteristics and demographics on patient preference was also investigated.

Results: The DCE was completed by 350 people with MS (81% female, mean age?=?39). Results showed that method of taking medication was the strongest determinant of preference (27%; relative importance out of 100%), followed by relapse free rate (21%) and symptom progression (14%). Risk of fatigue (8%) and type of monitoring (6%) were the weakest determinants of preference. Once-daily oral treatment was preferred over all other methods of administration. Participant characteristics did not influence data on strength of preference.

Limitations: This study assumed adequate participant understanding of the discrete choice experiment task, and recruitment targeted those with access to the internet.

Conclusions: These results, derived from people with MS in the UK, should be used to inform individual discussions with patients about DMT choices.     

The effects of one-way compatibility on technology adoption in systems markets

This paper analyzes the effects of one-way compatibility on technology adoption in a market that is characterized by a free-entry condition on the software side. We show that hardware-backward compatibility increases a new-generation hardware firm’s profit; the effects of software-backward compatibility on the hardware firm’s profits depend on the distribution of consumer types.     

Scale effects in Schumpeterian models of economic growth

Early models of Schumpeterian growth incorporate scale effects predicting that large economies grow faster than small economies, and that population growth causes accelerating per capita income growth. An absence of clear empirical evidence for these scale effects has led some researchers to question the foundations underlying the Schumpeterian approach to growth. This paper reviews empirical evidence on the relationship between scale and growth, and recent attempts to construct Schumpeterian growth models without scale effects.     

Determinants of farmers’ willingness to participate in subsidy schemes for pesticide-free buffer zones—A choice experiment study

Danish farmers have been far less interested in agri-environmental subsidy schemes (AES) than anticipated. In order to examine how to improve the appeal of such schemes, a choice experiment was conducted concerning 444 Danish farmers’ preferences for subsidy schemes for pesticide-free buffer zones. A random parameter logit framework was used to capture heterogeneity among farmers. Our results indicate that 1) the vast majority of farmers are willing to trade off the size of the subsidy for less restrictive scheme requirements and that 2) the amount of the subsidy they are willing to trade off varies with specific scheme requirements, suggesting which features are most important for successful policy design. Our results suggest that farmers value flexible contract terms higher than reduced administrative burdens. Finally, we suggest a practical approach to estimating a monetary value of farmers’ reluctance to participate in AES. While the trade off's that farmers are willing to make between subsidy size and individual scheme requirements are case specific, our results concerning increased use of farm advisors, farmers ability of valuing different types of flexibility, and our attempt to place a monetary value on farmers’ reluctance to engage in regulatory subsidy schemes have a potentially broader application platform.     

Evaluating the effects of area closure for recreational fishing in a coral reef ecosystem: The benefits of an integrated economic and biophysical modeling

This paper presents an integrated agent-based model of recreational fishing behavior within a reef ecosystem as a platform for the evaluation of recreational fishing management strategies. Angler behavior is described using econometrically estimated site choice models, with site choice among anglers driven by site attributes and angler characteristics. The biophysical model represents the marine reef environment as a system with different trophic levels identifying algal and coral growth as well as two types of fish (piscivores and herbivores). Ecosystem dynamics are driven by interactions within the trophic levels and interaction between fish populations and fishing activities.The model is used to simulate recreational fishing activities and their interactions with the environment. Recreational fishing sites from the Ningaloo Marine Park, an iconic coral reef system in Western Australia, are used as a case study. A set of management strategies, including “business-as-usual” and different site closure durations, are assessed for two different levels of fishing pressures. The results show that not only the effectiveness but also the distribution of management impacts across space and over time can be very different from what one would expect without the benefit of integrated modeling.     

生大黄联合乌司他汀治疗重症急性胰腺炎临床疗效观察

目的观察生大黄联合乌司他汀治疗重症急性胰腺炎的临床疗效。方法入选济宁市附属医院住院确诊的重症急性胰腺炎患者88例,随机分成治疗组、对照组两组。对照组给予禁饮食、胃肠减压、抑酸、抗生素、补充血容等对症支持治疗,治疗组在上述治疗基础上加用生大黄粉及乌司他汀。结果生大黄联合乌司他汀治疗后,治疗组CRP浓度、血尿淀粉酶、白细胞数均较对照组显著降低,肝功能损害较入院时明显好转。结论生大黄联合乌司他汀治疗重症急性胰腺炎疗效好。     

Consumption and disposable income in the EU countries: the role of wealth effects

We investigate the long run relationship between private consumption and disposable income for a sample of EU countries using recently developed panel cointegration techniques. For the ordinary consumption-income model the evidence on cointegration is ambiguous. In addition, the cointegration vector obtained by efficient estimation methods is not consistent with theoretical reasoning, as it reflects a decline in the savings rate over time. Extending the analysis by financial wealth improves the model fit markedly. In particular, the income elasticity is not different from 1 and therefore in line with the life cycle permanent income hypothesis. The marginal propensity to consume out of financial wealth is in a range of 3–5%, thereby confirming recent time series results.     

Micro and macroeconomic effects of financial innovation in a domestic and international perspective

This paper is focused on the rise and the fall of structured finance, derivatives, and asset-backed securities. Special focus is made on the attempts of the banking sector to improve the economic performance, particularly the ROE, by creating, acquiring, and selling derivatives. The possible outcome of public intervention to rescue the financial sector is finally discussed. V. Coppola supported the research in collecting and elaborating data.     

Existence and local indeterminacy of periodic equilibrium paths in infinite horizon models with external effects

Summary. It is expected that every periodic equilibrium path may exist even under standard assumptions such as low discounting and the concavity of utility functions in infinite horizon models with external effects. Nevertheless, until now no such example has been presented. In this note we will first construct a bounded growth model that has an external effect and every periodic equilibrium path under any discount factor. Next we will study the conditions under which periodic equilibrium paths have a local indeterminacy. Received: December 23, 1998; revised version: April 19, 1999     

Scale effects in endogenous growth theory: an error of aggregation not specification

Modern Schumpeterian growth theory focuses on the product line as the main locus of innovation and exploits endogenous product proliferation to sterilize the scale effect. The empirical core of this theory consists of two claims: (i) growth depends on average employment (i.e., employment per product line); (ii) average employment is scale invariant. We show that data on employment, R&D personnel, and the number of establishments in the US for the period 1964–2001 provide strong support for these claims. While employment and the total number of R&D workers increase with no apparent matching change in the long-run trend of productivity growth, employment and R&D employment per establishment exhibit no long-run trend. We also document that the number of establishments, employment and population exhibit a positive trend, while the ratio employment/establishment does not. Finally, we provide results of time series tests consistent with the predictions of these models.     

Re-examining the economic determinants of alcohol consumption in Canada: controlling for the presence of common correlated effects

Alcoholic beverages represent both an important source of revenue and a driver of expenditure for provincial governments in Canada. As a result, the pricing of alcoholic beverages has substantial public policy implications. In this context, we re-examine existing work estimating the demand for three classes of alcoholic beverage (beer, wine, and spirits) by controlling for common correlated effects. The results reveal that any conclusions regarding the government’s ability to influence alcohol consumption is sensitive to the assumption that the relationship between the demand for alcoholic beverages and economic variables is identical across provinces.     

The effects of lay participation in courts — A cross-country analysis

Legal philosophers like Montesquieu, Hegel and Tocqueville have argued that lay participation in judicial decision-making would have benefits reaching far beyond the realm of the legal system narrowly understood. From an economic point of view, lay participation in judicial decision-making can be interpreted as a renunciation of an additional division of labor, which is expected to cause foregone benefits in terms of the costs as well as the quality of judicial decision-making. In order to be justified, these foregone benefits need to be overcompensated by other – actually realized – benefits of at least the same magnitude. This paper discusses pros and cons of lay participation, presents a new database and tests some of the theoretically derived hypotheses empirically. The effects of lay participation on the judicial system, a number of governance variables but also on economic performance indicators are rather modest. A proxy representing historic experiences with any kind of lay participation is the single most robust variable.