Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

What Is The Use Value Of Irrigation Water From The High Plains Aquifer?, Federico García Suárez, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This study provides an estimate of the gross value of irrigation water from the U.S. High Plains

Aquifer. We estimate a yield function for aggregated crop biomass production, based on countylevel

observations for 1960–2007. This study found that irrigation increases total biomass yield in this

region by an average of 51%. We estimate the average gross annual value of irrigation as of 2007 to

be $196 per acre, for a total of about $3 billion across the aquifer. We also estimate that on average

across the aquifer, exposure to 24 hours of temperatures above 33C (one degree day) reduces biomass …

The Effects Of Irrigation And Climate On The High Plains Aquifer: A County-Level Econometric Analysis, Felipe De F. Silva, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin, Karina Schoengold

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

The High Plains Aquifer (HPA) underlies parts of eight states and 208 counties in the central area of the United States (U.S.). This region produces more than 9% of U.S. crops sales and relies on the aquifer for irrigation. However, these withdrawals have diminished the stock of water in the aquifer. In this paper, we investigate the aggregate county-level effect on the HPA of groundwater withdrawal for irrigation, of climate variables, and of energy price changes. We merge economic theory and hydrological characteristics to jointly estimate equations describing irrigation behavior and a generalized water balance equation for the HPA. Our …

The Opportunity Cost Of Preserving The Brazilian Amazon Forest., Felipe De Figueiredo Silva, Richard Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We estimate the trade-off between forest preservation and agricultural production for the Legal Amazon region, using census and deforestation

data for municipalities in 2006.We use a directional distance function to represent the production possibility frontier, and then calculate the shadow

price of reducing deforestation in terms of agricultural income foregone. Results indicate that, on average, to preserve 1 ha of forest, $797 in annual

agricultural GDP must be foregone. Using a discount rate of 10% and average forest carbon density of 132 tons per hectare, these results imply an

average shadow price of $16 per ton of CO2 permanently sequestered.

Wildlife Viewing: The Impact Of Money-Back Guarantees, Takahiro Kubo, Taro Mieno, Koichi Kuriyama

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Wildlife sightings are not always guaranteed. To address this risk, tour operators often offer a money-back guarantee as a refund mechanism. However, studies have overlooked the influences of such refund mechanisms on tourists' tour participation decisions and tourism revenue. We conducted choice experiments to examine the impact of such mechanisms using a case of Amami rabbit tourism in Japan. We found that the guarantee significantly influences the tourists’ decision-making and tour revenue. In particular, we found that the expected tourist participation rate and tour guide revenue vary drastically depending on the probability of the rabbit encounter. The maximum expected revenue …

The Cost Of Forest Preservation In The Brazilian Amazon: The “Arc Of Deforestation”, Felipe De Figueiredo Silva, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We estimate the trade-off between agricultural production and forest preservation for the municipalities in Brazil’s agricultural frontier, the so-called “arc of deforestation,” using census and deforestation data for 2006. We use a nonparametric directional output distance function that allows us to identify the gradients of the production possibility frontier, which are the trade-offs of interest. We found that, on average, $979 is forgone in annual livestock, timber, and grain revenues to conserve 1 hectare of forest. This translates, ceteris paribus, to an average present value of costs to permanently sequester CO2 of $16.36/t, higher than most previous estimates.