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Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
- Keyword
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- Control (3)
- Externalities (3)
- Permit Markets (3)
- Curbside Recycling (2)
- Emissions (2)
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- Estimating (2)
- Estimation (2)
- GIS (2)
- Global (2)
- Housing Amenities (2)
- Hypothetical Bias (2)
- Public Goods (2)
- Stagnant Streams (2)
- A Bayesian Examination of Information and Uncertainty in Contingent Valuation (1)
- A Contingent Ranking Analysis of Curbside Waste Disposal Options (1)
- Abatement Units (1)
- Africa (1)
- Agriculture Activities (1)
- Analysis (1)
- Beef heifer (1)
- Benefit (1)
- Bias (1)
- Bioceonomic model (1)
- Can Fighting Grade Inflation Help the Bottom Line? (1)
- Carbon Dioxide (1)
- Carbon sequestration (1)
- Cheap Talk Reconsidered: New Evidence from CVM (1)
- Choice experiment (1)
- Coexistence (1)
- Comparison (1)
Articles 1 - 30 of 33
Full-Text Articles in Agricultural and Resource Economics
Measuring Heterogeneous Preferences For The Preservation Of Prime Farmland With And Without Agrivoltaics, Arthur J. Caplan, Tiffany Woods, Brent Chamberlain, Sarah Klain
Measuring Heterogeneous Preferences For The Preservation Of Prime Farmland With And Without Agrivoltaics, Arthur J. Caplan, Tiffany Woods, Brent Chamberlain, Sarah Klain
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
This study fills a gap in cultural ecosystem service (CES) assessment of prime farmland located in peri-urban areas by presenting results from a choice experiment recently conducted in Utah's Wasatch Front region. The choice experiment was designed to account for heterogeneous effects associated with a wide array of socio-demographic and attitudinal characteristics on household preferences for farmland preservation, including farmland used for the joint production of solar power and agricultural products. We apply a mixed-logit model to our data that controls for preference heterogeneity among Wasatch Front households along two dimensions – at the individual household level and according to …
Scalability And Robustness Of Feed Yard Mortality Prediction Modeling To Improve Profitability, Ryan Feuz, Kyle Feuz, Jeffrey Gradner, Miles Theurer, Myriah Johnson
Scalability And Robustness Of Feed Yard Mortality Prediction Modeling To Improve Profitability, Ryan Feuz, Kyle Feuz, Jeffrey Gradner, Miles Theurer, Myriah Johnson
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
Cattle feed yards routinely track and collect data for individual calves throughout the feeding period. Using such operational data from nine U.S. feed yards for the years 2016-2019, we evaluated the scalability and economic viability of using machine learning classifier predicted mortality as a culling decision aid. The expected change in net return per head when using the classifier predictions as a culling aid as compared to the status quo culling protocol for calves having been pulled at least once for bovine respiratory disease was simulated. This simulated change in net return ranged from - $1.61 to $19.46/head. Average change …
Bioeconomic Factors Of Beef Heifer Maturity To Consider When Establishing Criteria To Optimally Select And/Or Retain Herd Replacements, M. C. Stockton, R. K. Wilson, Dillon M. Feuz, L. A. Stalker, R. N. Funston
Bioeconomic Factors Of Beef Heifer Maturity To Consider When Establishing Criteria To Optimally Select And/Or Retain Herd Replacements, M. C. Stockton, R. K. Wilson, Dillon M. Feuz, L. A. Stalker, R. N. Funston
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
Understanding the biology of heifer maturity and its relationship to calving difficulty and subsequent breeding success is a vital step in building abioeconomic model to identify optimal production and profitability. A limited dependent variable probit model is used to quantify the responses among heifer maturities, measured by a maturity index (MI), on dystocia and second pregnancy. The MI account for heifer age, birth BW, prebreeding BW, nutrition level, and dam size and age and is found to be inversely related to dystocia occurrence. On average there is a 2.2% increase in the probability of dystocia with every 1 point drop …
Comparative Assessment Of Water Markets: Insights From The Murray-Darling Basin Of Australia And The Western Usa, R. Quentin Grafton, Gary D. Libecap, Eric Edwards, R. J. O'Brien, Clay Landry
Comparative Assessment Of Water Markets: Insights From The Murray-Darling Basin Of Australia And The Western Usa, R. Quentin Grafton, Gary D. Libecap, Eric Edwards, R. J. O'Brien, Clay Landry
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
Water markets in Australia's Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) and the western USA are compared in terms of their ability to allocate scarce water resources. The study finds that the gains from trade in the MDB are worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year (note that all monetary units of dollars in this article are treated as US$ because Australian$ are converted at par). Total market turnover in water rights exceeds US$2 billion per year while the volume of trade exceeds over 20% of surface water extractions. In Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Texas, trades of committed water annually range between …
Gis-Based Estimation Of Housing Amenities: The Case Of High Grounds And Stagnant Streams, Shibashis Mukherjee, Arthur J. Caplan
Gis-Based Estimation Of Housing Amenities: The Case Of High Grounds And Stagnant Streams, Shibashis Mukherjee, Arthur J. Caplan
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
We use GIS and econometric methods to estimate the marginal implicit values of environmental amenities associated with residential land parcels in the mountain town of Logan, Utah. Amenities include proximity to open spaces (such as parks, golf courses and lakes), commercial zones, major roads, streams, and general visibility of surrounding topography in the valley as determined by the elevation of the land parcel. The amenity value estimates are corrected for spatial autocorrelation. We find spatially dependent relationships between (1) a parcel’s value and its elevation, and (2) a parcel’s value and its adjacency to a stagnant stream. To our knowledge, …
Matching Grants, Income Redistribution And Decentralized Leadership, Arthur J. Caplan, C. Emilson, D. Silva
Matching Grants, Income Redistribution And Decentralized Leadership, Arthur J. Caplan, C. Emilson, D. Silva
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
We examine the decentralized provision of an impure public good by regional governments in a federation similar in certain respects to both the European Union and the United States. The central authority redistributes income and provides matching grants on a per rate basis after it observes the regions’ contributions to the impure public good. Imperfectly mobile workers react to regional and central governments’ policies by establishing residence in their most preferred region. Despite imperfect labor mobility, we show that the allocation of the impure public good and the interregional income redistribution policy are generally efficient in a federation with decentralized …
Carbon Sequestration And Permit Trading On The Competitive Fringe, Arthur J. Caplan
Carbon Sequestration And Permit Trading On The Competitive Fringe, Arthur J. Caplan
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
This paper makes two contributions to the carbon-sequestration literature. The first is the development of a theoretical framework in which sequestration and permit trading are analyzed jointly in the context of a competitive fringe model. The second is a numerical analysis demonstrating the role market structure, or market power, might play in the determination of an equilibrium sequestration allocation and carbon price. We present three comparative-static cases, the first two of which assess the impact of relative changes in the cost structures of the dominant firm and competitive fringe. For these two cases we find that the equilibrium allocation of …
Foreign Direct Investment, Non-Traded Goods And Real Wages, Reza Oladi, John Gilbert, H. Beladi
Foreign Direct Investment, Non-Traded Goods And Real Wages, Reza Oladi, John Gilbert, H. Beladi
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
Using a three‐sector general equilibrium model with non‐traded goods, we investigate the impact of foreign direct investment on the real wages of skilled and unskilled workers. We show that foreign direct investment increases the real wages of skilled and unskilled workers alike, but widens the gap between the two under plausible conditions.
Can Fighting Grade Inflation Help The Bottom Line?, Arthur J. Caplan, John Gilbert
Can Fighting Grade Inflation Help The Bottom Line?, Arthur J. Caplan, John Gilbert
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
This article uses a rich set of student transcript data to estimate the economic cost incurred by a university when it does not adopt a ‘mean-shift grading policy’ to fight grade inflation. We show that even in the face of moral hazard constraints a university can enhance its profitability by fighting grade inflation with a distribution-shifting policy.
Gis-Based Estimation Of Marginal Implicit Prices Of Housing Amenities: The Case Of High Ground And Stagnant Streams, Arthur J. Caplan
Gis-Based Estimation Of Marginal Implicit Prices Of Housing Amenities: The Case Of High Ground And Stagnant Streams, Arthur J. Caplan
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
We use GIS and econometric methods to estimate the marginal implicit values of environmental amenities associated with residential land parcels in the mountain town of Logan, Utah. Amenities include proximity to open spaces (such as parks, golf courses and lakes), commercial zones, major roads, streams, and general visibility of surrounding topography in the valley as determined by the elevation of the land parcel. The amenity value estimates are corrected for spatial autocorrelation. We find spatially dependent relationships between (1) a parcel’s value and its elevation, and (2) a parcel’s value and its adjacency to a stagnant stream. To our knowledge, …
Estimating Hypothetical Bias In Economically Emergent Africa: A Generic Public Good Experiment, Arthur J. Caplan, David Aadland, Anthony Macharia
Estimating Hypothetical Bias In Economically Emergent Africa: A Generic Public Good Experiment, Arthur J. Caplan, David Aadland, Anthony Macharia
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
This paper reports results from a contingent valuation based public good experiment conducted in the African nation of Botswana. In a sample of university students, we find evidence that stated willingness to contribute to a public good in a hypothetical setting is higher than actual contribution levels. However, results from regression analysis suggest that this is true only in the second round of the experiment, when participants making actual contributions have learned to significantly lower their contribution levels. As globalization expands markets, and economies such as Botswana's continue to modernize, there is a growing need to understand how hypothetical bias …
Does "Free Sampling" Enhance The Value Of Public Goods?, Arthur J. Caplan, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Sandra Marquart-Pyatt
Does "Free Sampling" Enhance The Value Of Public Goods?, Arthur J. Caplan, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Sandra Marquart-Pyatt
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
This study investigates whether a ‘free sampling’ marketing strategy induces an enduring WTP premium effect for public goods. Using data from a unique field experiment involving curbside recycling, we find that the premium effect associated with providing non-participating households a brief opportunity to participate in a curbside recycling program for free is relatively small and not enduring. It may therefore not be cost effective to offer a free-sampling participation incentive for this type (or similar types) of local public good(s).
Estimating The Effectiveness Of A Vehicle Miles Traveled Tax In Reducing Particulate Matter Emissions, Jordan Larsen, Arthur J. Caplan
Estimating The Effectiveness Of A Vehicle Miles Traveled Tax In Reducing Particulate Matter Emissions, Jordan Larsen, Arthur J. Caplan
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
This study estimates the effectiveness of a vehicle miles travelled (VMT) tax in controlling mobile-source emissions of particulate matter (PM2.5) in a non-attainment area located in northern Utah. Using a recently updated household-level dataset, the study finds no evidence of an endogenous relationship between choice of vehicle type and VMT. VMT elasticities are also estimated with respect to cost per mile that are in some cases larger in magnitude than those reported in previous studies. Based on vehicle emissions tests performed by the Houston Advanced Research Center, the study estimates the reduction in particulate emissions that would occur with two …
D Is For Dillydally?, Arthur J. Caplan, John Gilbert
D Is For Dillydally?, Arthur J. Caplan, John Gilbert
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
Evidence from online assignments in an intermediate microeconomics course suggests that nonprocrastinators (both early-starters and front-loaders) score higher than their dilly-dallying counterparts. Students who are busier in school tend to start their assignments earlier.
Incremental And Average Control Costs In A Model Of Water Quality Trading With Discrete Abatement Units, Arthur J. Caplan
Incremental And Average Control Costs In A Model Of Water Quality Trading With Discrete Abatement Units, Arthur J. Caplan
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
This paper answers three questions related to the discrete nature of pollution abatement: (i) does a source's incremental control cost (as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) necessarily exceed its average control cost, (ii) is incremental control cost a better approximation of a source's willingness to pay for abatement credits than average control cost, and (iii) exactly how does trading in discrete and continuous abatement markets differ? We find that the answer to the first two questions are both "no", suggesting that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency needs to refine its reliance on incremental control cost as the sole …
An Equitable, Efficient, And Implementable Scheme To Control Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Arthur J. Caplan, Emilson C.D. Silva
An Equitable, Efficient, And Implementable Scheme To Control Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Arthur J. Caplan, Emilson C.D. Silva
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
We design an international scheme to control global externalities in which autonomous regions choose their own emissions levels in anticipation of interregional resource transfers implemented by an international agency. This agency follows a proportional equity principle, which preserves the status-quo ratio of regional welfare levels. We show that it is individually rational for each region to participate in the proposed international scheme and that regional environmental authorities choose policies that fully internalize the global externality. Although based on an admittedly ideal scheme, these results are especially noteworthy in light of the call for various forms of transfers in international agreements …
Using Choice Question Formats To Determine Compensable Values: The Case Of A Landfill Sitting Process, Arthur J. Caplan, Therese Grijalva, Douglas Jackson-Smith
Using Choice Question Formats To Determine Compensable Values: The Case Of A Landfill Sitting Process, Arthur J. Caplan, Therese Grijalva, Douglas Jackson-Smith
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
Siting noxious facilities, such as community landfills, is a challenging problem for local planners who recognize the importance of economic efficiency and equity, political acceptance, and meeting federal regulatory standards. Meeting these criteria requires technical and socio-economic analyses in conjunction with public input. Planners may also recognize that political acceptance requires compensation for the host community, either in the form of monetary or in-kind transfers. Following Breffle and Rowe (2002), we use a “resource-toresource” paired-comparison survey method to estimate compensatory values associated with an in-county landfill for both the host and non-host communities. Our results indicate that while a host-community …
A Bayesian Examination Of Information And Uncertainty In Contingent Valuation, David M. Aadland, Arthur J. Caplan, Owen R. Phillips
A Bayesian Examination Of Information And Uncertainty In Contingent Valuation, David M. Aadland, Arthur J. Caplan, Owen R. Phillips
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
A theoretical framework is presented to explain how agents respond to information under uncertainty in contingent valuation surveys. Agents are provided with information signals and referendum prices as part of the elicitation process. Agents use Bayesian updating to revise prior distributions. An information prompt is presented to reduce hypothetical bias. However, we show the interaction between anchoring and the information prompt creates a systematic bias in willingness to pay. We test our hypotheses in an experimental setting where agents are asked to make a hypothetical, voluntary contribution to a public good. Experimental results are consistent with the model.
A Comparison Of Emissions Taxes And Permit Markets For Controlling Correlated Externalities, Arthur J. Caplan
A Comparison Of Emissions Taxes And Permit Markets For Controlling Correlated Externalities, Arthur J. Caplan
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
This paper provides an answer to the question, are emission taxes an efficient and self-enforcing mechanism to control correlated externality problems? By “correlated externalities” we mean multiple pollutants that are jointly produced by a single source but which cause differentiated regional and global externalities. By “self-enforcing” we mean a mechanism that accounts for the endogeneity that exists between competing jurisdictions in the setting of environmental policy within a federation of regions. This mechanism incorporates sequential decision making among the jurisdictions and therefore determines an equilibrium based on the concept of subgame perfection. We find that, unlike joint domestic and international …
Interactive Geometry For Surplus Sharing In Cooperative Games, Arthur J. Caplan, Yuya Sasaki
Interactive Geometry For Surplus Sharing In Cooperative Games, Arthur J. Caplan, Yuya Sasaki
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
The need to understand surplus-sharing rules in cooperative game theory occurs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The rules are generally depicted as mathematical problems that entail the calculation of a vector of allocations. This Web page provides a downloadable program that enables users to interactively generate geometrical depictions of the rules for an unlimited number of three-player games. The program (1) demonstrates graphically how the simplex (i.e., area of potential cooperation) is shrunk to its corresponding core on the basis of the game’s characteristic function (i.e., the specification of the payoffs for each of the seven possible coalitions, …
Interactive Scenario Analysis Of Exhaustible Resource Problems, Arthur J. Caplan, John Gilbert
Interactive Scenario Analysis Of Exhaustible Resource Problems, Arthur J. Caplan, John Gilbert
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
We provide several interactive models that can be used in an intermediate- or graduate-level, natural-resource economics course to numerically solve a host of exhaustible-resource problems, and thereby help to verify the intuition and symbolic solutions typically provided in textbooks. Examples are drawn from Tietenberg (2006).
Cheap Talk Reconsidered: New Evidence From Cvm, David M. Aadland, Arthur J. Caplan
Cheap Talk Reconsidered: New Evidence From Cvm, David M. Aadland, Arthur J. Caplan
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
Two recent studies have shown that “cheap talk” is an effective means of eliminating positive hypothetical bias in experimental and field-auction settings. We further investigate the ability of cheap talk to mitigate positive hypothetical bias in a contingent-valuation phone survey administered to over 4,000 households. Positive hypothetical bias is detected in our data by contrasting revealed and stated preference information. However, a short, neutral cheap-talk script appears to exacerbate rather than mitigate the bias. Based on this and mixed evidence from earlier studies, we suggest caution in using cheap talk as an ex ante control for hypothetical bias.
Curbside Recycling: Waste Resource Or Waste Of Resources?, David M. Aadland, Arthur J. Caplan
Curbside Recycling: Waste Resource Or Waste Of Resources?, David M. Aadland, Arthur J. Caplan
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
In this paper, we address the often contentious debate over state and local recycling policy by carefully estimating the social net benefit of curbside recycling. Benefits are estimated using household survey data from over 4,000 households across 40 western U.S. cities. We calibrate household willingness-to-pay for hypothetical bias using an innovative experimental design that contrasts stated and revealed preferences. Cost estimates are compiled from previous studies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Institute for Local Self Reliance, and from in-depth interviews with recycling coordinators in our sampled cities. Across our sample of cities, we find that the estimated …
Risk-Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Atrazine In Drinking Water From Agricultural Activities And Policy Implications, Aklilu A. Tesfamichael, Arthur J. Caplan, Jagath J. Kaluarachchi
Risk-Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Atrazine In Drinking Water From Agricultural Activities And Policy Implications, Aklilu A. Tesfamichael, Arthur J. Caplan, Jagath J. Kaluarachchi
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
This study provides an improved methodology for investigating the trade‐offs between the health risks and economic benefits of using atrazine in the agricultural sector by incorporating public attitude to pesticide management in the analysis. Regression models are developed to predict finished water atrazine concentration in high‐risk community water supplies in the United States. The predicted finished water atrazine concentrations are then used in a health risk assessment. The computed health risks are compared with the total economic surplus in the U.S. corn market for different atrazine application rates using estimated demand and supply functions developed in this work. Analysis of …
An Efficient Mechanism To Control Correlated Externalities: Redistributive Transfers And The Coexistence Of Region And Global Pollution Permit Markets, Arthur J. Caplan, Emilson C.D. Silva
An Efficient Mechanism To Control Correlated Externalities: Redistributive Transfers And The Coexistence Of Region And Global Pollution Permit Markets, Arthur J. Caplan, Emilson C.D. Silva
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
We examine joint tradable permit markets as a self-enforcing mechanism to control correlated externality problems. By “correlated” we mean multiple pollutants that are jointly produced by a single source but which simultaneously cause differentiated regional and global externalities (e.g. smog and global warming). By “self-enforcing” we mean a mechanism that accounts for the endogeneity that exists between competing jurisdictions in the setting of environmental policy within a federation of regions. We find that joint domestic and international permit markets are Pareto efficient for a wide class of preferences.
Incentive Incompatibility And Starting-Point Bias In Iterative Valuation Questions: Comment, David M. Aadland, Arthur J. Caplan
Incentive Incompatibility And Starting-Point Bias In Iterative Valuation Questions: Comment, David M. Aadland, Arthur J. Caplan
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
In a recent study, Whitehead (2002) proposes incentive-incompatibility and starting-point-bias tests for iterative willingness-to-pay questions. We show that if restrictions associated with the nature of starting-point bias are not imposed on the estimation, one obtains inconsistent estimates of the structural parameters and may draw inaccurate conclusions regarding the extent of incentive incompatibility and starting-point bias in contingent-valuation survey data.
Reputation And The Control Of Pollution, Arthur J. Caplan
Reputation And The Control Of Pollution, Arthur J. Caplan
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
This paper investigates the effectiveness of reputation in inducing a polluting firm to self-regulate its emissions when consumers have imperfect information. In particular, we ask to what extent must consumers reward and punish the firm before it chooses self-regulation as its dominant strategy? We find that if payoffs in the stage game are such that both the consumer and the polluting firm have beliefs that are consistent with each others’ behaviors, then the firm has a positive probability of playing clean in each period of a finite game. Further, we find that a weak reward/punishment scheme may have an adverse …
An Efficient Mechanism To Control Correlated Externalities: Redistributive Transfers And Coexistence Of Regional And Global Pollution Permit Markets, Arthur J. Caplan
An Efficient Mechanism To Control Correlated Externalities: Redistributive Transfers And Coexistence Of Regional And Global Pollution Permit Markets, Arthur J. Caplan
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Willingness To Pay For Curbside Recycling With Detection And Mitigation Of Hypothetical Bias, David M. Aadland, Arthur J. Caplan
Willingness To Pay For Curbside Recycling With Detection And Mitigation Of Hypothetical Bias, David M. Aadland, Arthur J. Caplan
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
In this article, we estimate willingness to pay for curbside recycling. Using a unique data set, we also test for and detect significant hypothetical bias using stated- and revealed-preference data. A short-scripted “cheap-talk” statement is used to mitigate the bias and provide more efficient estimates of the welfare impacts of curbside recycling programs.
Waste Not Or Want Not? A Contingent Ranking Analysis Of Curbside Waste Disposal Options, Arthur J. Caplan, Therese Grijalva, Paul Mark Jakus
Waste Not Or Want Not? A Contingent Ranking Analysis Of Curbside Waste Disposal Options, Arthur J. Caplan, Therese Grijalva, Paul Mark Jakus
Applied Economics Faculty Publications
Recent growth in the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream nationwide has prompted considerable research into alternative waste management programs that would divert a portion of the MSW stream from landfills. Using a sample of 350 individuals from a random digit-dialed telephone survey, a discrete choice contingent ranking approach is used to estimate household’s willingness-to-pay for various curbside trash-separation services in Ogden, Utah. Results indicate that Ogden residents are willing to pay approximately 3.7–4.6¢ per gallon of waste diverted for a curbside service that enables separation of green waste and recyclable material from other solid waste. Relative to costly waste diversion …