Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Essays On The Economics Of Energy And Transportation, Ryan N. Barnes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is responsible for planning, operating, and maintaining a highway network consisting of over 18,500 lane-miles of highway. In recent years the growing uncertainty about oil prices and availability has made long-range transportation planning even more challenging. Rather than relying on trend extrapolation, this study uses market mechanisms to shed light on key long-range transportation planning assumptions. In particular, this study was conducted to help WSDOT assess the likelihood that natural gas will substitute for petroleum fuels and estimate the impacts that changes in fuel prices will have on natural gas vehicle demand, fuel …

Energy Analysis Of Flat Water Recreation: An Economic Assessment, Craig Leon Howell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Energy analysts believe that traditional economics and energy markets undervalue the only absolutely limited resource, energy. They have produced methods to supplement or supercede economics.

However, theoretical underpinnings of these methods include an energy theory of value which is shown to be too narrow to support workable economic models or numeraires. Sample rankings of recreational values on four Utah reservoirs, using energy analysis and economic methods, show that the two methods yield opposite rankings.

A Dynamic Optimization Model Of Energy Related Economic Planning And Development For The Navajo Nation, Hamid Beladi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Navajo reservation located in portions of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah is rich in low sulfur coal deposits, ideal for strip mining operation. Presently, the Navajo Nation has entered into extensive coal leases with several large companies and utilities. Contracts have committed huge quantities of Navajo coal for mining.

The present research has been directed to evaluate the shadow prices of Navajo coal and identify optimal coal extraction. An economic model of coal resource extraction over time has been structured within an optimal control problem has been formulated as a discrete dynamic optimization problem.

A comparison of the shadow …

Economic Impacts Of Water Conservation Measures In Agriculture And Energy Within The Upper Colorado River Basin, Douglas R. Franklin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The demand for water is increasing in the western United States. Coupled with growing emphasis on development of the western resources, the limited supply of water will create an expanding competitive market for water by agricultural, energy, industrial and municipal users.

The Upper Colorado River Basin is faced with a question of what water conservation measures in the agricultural and energy sectors can be instigated without reducing agricultural output. If the decision is made to adopt water conservation technology measures, this study addresses the impacts in the private and public investment sectors under alternative public policies, i.e., regulation or non-regulation …