Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Using Choice Experiment Valuation Methods To Measure Public Preference For A New National Park In Maine, Alexander G. Wilsterman

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

With global population increasing faster than ever, the need to protect land from development is at an all-time high. This paper seeks the measure the public preference for a new national park located in northern Maine. A national park will both protect the land and inject a much-needed economic stimulus to the surrounding communities. The study uses the choice experiment valuation method to quantify its results. Through this revealed preference we can quantify which characteristics are most important to the public so that these characteristics may be considered if the project is ever approved.

Golf Courses In Maine: Land Type Valuation Versus A Hedonic Pricing Analysis, Gregory Ladd, Jason Buco

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Many studies have been conducted analyzing the economic impact of golf courses on the local communities. These studies examine economic impacts of tournaments, endorsements, and vacation expenses of the major golf courses in the United States. However, there is little research conducted on the environmental impact of Golf courses, specifically in Maine. This paper performs a hedonic pricing analysis using housing prices in proximity to golf courses and compares it to the valuation of various land types in Maine. Housing prices were collected in the towns of Auburn, and North Yarmouth both near and distant from the local golf course. …

Converting Croplands To Grassland: A Spatial Analysis Of The Economic Feasibility Of Soil Greenhouse Gas Mitigation In Midwest, United States, Paco C. Defrancis

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

The global agriculture sector is responsible for close 20% of the aggregate anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions emitted since the start of the industrial age. Much of these emissions are attributed to the degradation of soils due to land use change when native ecosystems were converted to agricultural fields. Soil organic carbon (SOC) has been found to decrease in temperate soils when the native (such as a forest or grassland) ecosystem is replace by croplands. The aggregate amount of organic carbon stored in soils globally is estimated be 3.3x the size of the atmospheric carbon pool. Further soil degradation and …

Cost Benefit Analysis Of Café Standards Compared To The Alternative Fuel/Carbon Tax, Brian Levinson

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

The Cafe Standards were introduced in 1975 following the Oil Embargo. The goals of this program were simple. To reduce co2 emissions in vehicles by increasing a mandatory average mpg level for car manufacturers in the United States. Recently, in 2012, the Obama Administration set new Cafe Standard requirements for car manufacturers. By 2025, all new cars on the road in the United States must average 54.5 miles per gallon, which would double the current 27 mpg average in place right now. While the intentions of this policy are to reduce co2 emissions while at the same time increasing savings …

The Economics Of The Audubon Society's Sanctuary Program For Golf Courses, Dan Hyszczak

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Millions of people play golf every year, and in 2011 Golf Courses gained $22 billion dollars in revenue. This statistic combined with golf’s inherent place in the natural environment lead to questions of value and development for golf course owners. In 1991, The Audubon Society created their Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses (ACSP) to promote environmentally sustainable practices for golf courses and to recognize the courses that are the most environmentally in both the United States and around the world.

This paper builds off of prior research that connects golf course beauty with revenue by examining the effects of …

Preferences For Coral Reef And Fishery Management In Okinawa, Japan, Nils Carlson

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This study is an example of how a nonmarket valuation method – a choice experiment – can be used to influence and guide ecosystem conservation efforts. Using a choice experiment survey, this study estimates the willingness to pay (WTP) for certain hypothetical attributes of a restored and conserved coral reef in Okinawa, Japan. I find that an increase in the amount of fish available to catch in ten years as well as an increase in the extent and health of the coral reefs and the number of marine biodiversity found in the Okinawan waters after ten-years, both positively affect respondent’s …

An Exploratory Statistical Analysis Of The External And Internal Effects Of Art Museums In The United States, John Eder

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

An Exploratory Statistical Analysis of the External and Internal Effects of Art Museums in the United States

How Does The Stock Market Value The Renewable Energy Sector: A Public Announcement Analysis And Test Of The Efficient Market Hypothesis, Jack Crampton

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This study analyzes the market reaction to public announcements in the stock market. The efficient market hypothesis is put to test and similar studies are reexamined in the context of the renewable energy sector. Through fixed effects models, we can assess the validity to the efficient market hypothesis and assess how the market values the clean energy sector.

A Survey On Climate Change: How Beliefs Shape Responsibility, Connor P. Clancy, Sarah Beth Solomon

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper examines the lack of awareness and feelings of personal responsibility for climate change. Previous literature suggests that while part of the United States population may be aware of climate change, they do not feel personally responsible for causing it despite feeling climate change’s effects just like everyone else. Furthermore, studies suggest that individuals also do not believe climate change will affect them now, but rather it is an issue for future generations. Using a survey, we examine which demographics and personal factors are most important in eliciting awareness for climate change, and furthermore, personal responsibility for its effects. …

The Value Of Dune Width In Avalon, New Jersey: A Hedonic Pricing Analysis, Matt Mignon

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Previous research on the economics of coastal housing markets has proven that housing values along the east coast of the United States capitalize on the attributes of local beaches. These recent studies document two important findings: that beach width positively affects coastal property values and that there is a proximity effect, in which distance from the beach plays a significant role in the capitalization of local beach attributes. This paper builds upon these findings to explore the influence that dune width has on coastal property values in Avalon, New Jersey. I hypothesize that as dune width increases, local property values …

Invited Introduction To Jerec, Noelwah Netusil

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

No abstract provided.

Welcome By The Editor, Sahan T. M. Dissanayake

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

No abstract provided.

Atlas Of Maine: Piping Plover And Least Tern Habitat, Jeffrey Vaz

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

This map highlights the locations of essential habitat for Piping Plovers and Least Terns, both of which are endangered in the state of Maine. Essential habitat is defined as areas that both species use for nesting, feeding, and brood-rearing. Conserved areas in Maine are also highlighted on the map.

Innovation And Productivity: Evidence From China, Jingying Xu

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

This paper investigates a lesser-known effect of innovation on the productivity of manufacturing firms in China. Innovation is a powerful vehicle for new firms to enter the market and compete with established firms. Innovation plays a key role in the productivity of firms and it matters for all types of firms, new as well as established. The ratio of new product output to the firms total outputs is used to measure innovation ability in this paper. A higher ratio is expected to have a positive impact on a firms productivity since new products are likely to be more differentiated than …

Optimal Land Conservation By State In Terms Of Gdp, Carolyn Fuwa, Robert Mccormick

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Our research analyzes and compares the different levels of conservation in terms of acres and invested dollars between states and how these different approaches to conservation effects each states production over time.

Competitive Balance And Attendance In Major League Baseball, Gary Koplik, Christopher Kennedy, Ryan Jann, Daniel Meyer

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Competitive balance is an important issue for Major League Baseball (MLB). If there is too much separation between the best and worst teams it is believed that games become uninteresting because the season-end result is predictable. If there is too little separation fans may be uninterested because the regular season result appears to be simply luck based. The MLB offices have made strides to increase competitive balance by implementing a revenue sharing system and by adding additional playoff spots. The goal of this paper is to examine the effects of competitive balance in baseball on league wide attendance. Previous papers …

The Ecological And Economic Value Of Maine Golf Courses, Gregory Ladd, Jason Buco

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

What is the housing premium and induced impacts of tourism attributed from Maine Golf Course?

Controls On Farmland Prices In The Midwestern United States, A Time-Series Econometric Analysis From 1970-2014, William Kearney, Paco Defrancis

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Farmland prices in the American Midwest are finally starting to come off of a historic bull-market run that is seen in many counties that make up District 7 of the Federal Reserves Bank (the Chicago Fed) skyrocket to well in excess of ,000 per acre. In our analysis we look at how much control different variables had on the sharp uptick in farmland prices that was experience in the late-2000's. We have compiled data from 1970 through Q4 of 2014 that came from the Chicago Fed (county-level and regional average farmland prices and agricultural loan interest rates), the USDA (figures …

Effects Of War-Time Escalation On Immigration Attitudes In The United States, Dylan Smith, Anthony Ramirez

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Immigration Policy is a highly divisive issue in the United States, most notably recently with the Obama Administrations executive order on immigration reform and subsequent injunction by Texas Judge Andrew S. Hansen. Major influences on immigration opinion and policy include international political conflict. For example, surrounding the tragic events of 9/11 there was a large increase in xenophobic attitudes according to polls taken in the beginning of 2001 and 2002: a Gallup poll demonstrated that those wanting less immigration increased from 36% in 2001 to 52% in the following year. The goal of this paper is to observe the effect …

Equity Returns: Low-Cost Vs. Full-Service Airline Carriers, Austin Murphy, Mitchell Maffeo, William Kunin

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The purpose of this study is to examine how fluctuations in the price of NYMEX WTI light-sweet crude oil futures, the Consumer Confidence Index, and the S&P GSCI Aluminum TR index, as well as changes in the seasons, predict variation in airline carrier equity and airfare prices. We will run six regressions in order to distinguish the different effects of these explanatory variable on low-cost and full-service airline equity. Serving as a proxy for low-cost airlines, we use the three largest carriers in the United States: Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Spirit Airlines. We then compare these results to those …

Predicting Need-Based Financial Aid, Connor Whitley, Camden Regan, Daniel Hyszczak

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

to be added later.

The Value Of Dune Width In Avalon, New Jersey: A Hedonic Pricing Analysis, Matthew Mignon

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Previous research on the economics of coastal housing markets has proven that housing values along the east coast of the United States capitalize on the attributes of local beaches. These recent studies document two important findings: i) that beach width positively affects coastal property values; ii) and that there is a proximity effect, in which distance from the beach plays a significant role in the capitalization of local beach attributes. This paper builds upon these findings to explore the influence that dune width has on coastal property values in Avalon, New Jersey. I hypothesize that homebuyers in a beach town …

The Economics Of The Audubon Society Sanctuary Program For Golf Courses, Daniel Hyszczak

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

To be added later.

Preferences For Coral Reef And Fishery Management In Okinawa, Nils Carlson

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The valuation and estimation of key characteristics of a coral reef are of importance to policy makers in order to secure the capacity of coral reefs to supply humanity with ecological goods and services. This study sets out to estimate the willingness-to-pay for certain attributes of a coral reef and to elicit preferences for individuals regarding the key characteristics provided by the marine environment in Okinawa, Japan.

Preferences For Eco-Labels In Seafood And Underutilized Fish, Xiaojie Chen

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The alarming decline of the global fishing economy has led to an increased recognition for the need to relieve pressure from the few commercially marketed and heavily overfished stocks, while regaining economic stability for struggling fishing communities. We can improve the longevity and well-being of both the fish stocks and the coastal communities by shifting consumer demand toward seafood that is more sustainably harvested or locally supplied. Currently, however, lack of transparency in the seafood supply chain is a severe impediment to consumer-driven solutions. In response, ecologically aware organizations have begun distributing a variety of eco-labels that help describe the …

Efficient Market Hypothesis And Environmental Stocks: Market Reactions To Capital Investment In Renewable Energy Projects And The Pricing Of Environmental Securities, John Crampton

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The focus of this paper is on the efficient market hypothesis which states that securities are all efficiently priced based on all available information. Furthermore, once an announcement is made or there is new information available, the market reacts and adjusts prices. I hope to analyze this theory and test it against environmental stocks focused on renewable energy generation (solar fields, wind turbine fields, etc.). Then, the analysis of what characteristics of a security make up the pricing of that stock, such as the price of oil, dividend yield, time of the year (cyclical factors), types of capital investments (solar …

Cost Benefit Of Cafe Standards, Brian Levinson

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Cost and benefit analysis of Cafe (MPG) standards and ways to improve current techniques

The Value And Preferences For Improved Cook Stoves: A Choice Experiment In Ethiopia, Gilbert Kiggundu

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

This paper investigates preferences and the willingness to pay for improved cook stoves using a choice experiment administered in Ethiopia. Previous research indicates that traditional cooking methods are harmful to human health as well as the environment, as people need to cut down trees or collect other biomass sources for fuel. However, clean stoves can solve both these environmental and health problems, as well as provide a sustainable method for cooking and heating in developing countries. In this study, we use a choice experiment survey to understand Ethiopian households valuations of different characteristics of stoves, including their durability, fuel reduction, …

Rethinking How To Efficiently Fund Public Goods: An Agent-Based Modelling Of A Group Funding System Accommodating Different Human Behaviors And Influences Affecting Decision-Making, Shama Ramos

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

In neoclassical economics, we assume individuals generally based their decisions on their own welfare maximizing their utility. Due to this assumption, we created a tax system in order to provide public goods so that no one will act as a free-rider. Nonetheless, this system only provides general optimal utility instead of optimal utility for each individual. Because of the set assumption that humans only seek self-interest, economists overlooked other significant factors affecting peoples decision-making processes. In this research, I applied an agent-based model in order to take in consideration other factors affecting human decision-making and propose a new system in …

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Through Grassland Restoration In The Upper Midwest, United States: A Spatially-Controlled Cost-Benefit Analysis, Paco Defrancis

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The global agriculture sector is responsible for close 20% of gross anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions emitted since the start of the industrial age. Much of these emissions are attributed to the degradation of soils due to land use change when native ecosystems were converted to agricultural fields. Soil organic carbon (SOC) has been found to decrease in temperate soils when the native (such as a forest or grassland) ecosystem is replace by croplands. The aggregate amount of organic carbon stored in soils globally is estimated be 3.3x the size of the atmospheric carbon pool. Further soil degradation and reduction …