In this paper we estimate the external cost caused by odor from an animal waste processing facility in Flanders, using new odor measures based on field measurements. We compare four ways of incorporating odor nuisance: distance to the source, distance zones, continuous odor measures, and odor...

We outline the determinants of local public policies for farmland preservation and urban expansion. We first rely on the literature and on a purposely designed field study of municipalities in southern France to propose a theoretical framework better suited to the French situation. The model...

Conventional wisdom holds that optimal abatement subsidy rates should be differentiated across firms according to the (actual or imputed) marginal damages created by a firm’s emissions. When subsidy rates are developed under a limited budget, we find they may be optimally differentiated to...

A number of studies have questioned how successfully paid land diversion has been adapted to address broad environmental policy concerns. Similar evaluations of cost-sharing programs have not been performed. This paper uses a revealed preference approach to estimate the implicit decision...

Researchers using questionnaires to elicit preferences must decide whether to include response options that allow respondents to express "no opinion." Using a split-sample design, we explore the implications of alternative answer formats including and not including no-opinion responses in an...

The development of lakefront property in northern Wisconsin has prompted, in several towns, minimum frontage zoning stricter than the state standard. Such zoning generates an economic loss by constraining development (development effect), and an economic gain by preserving environmental...

A model for the recovery of an endangered species is developed and applied to the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), a species once abundant in the southeastern United States. There is a finite set of recovery actions that might be implemented in each period, with the goal of reaching...

We use propensity score matching to estimate additionality from enrollment in federal costshare programs for six practices. We analyze farmer adoption decisions based on farmer survey data in Ohio. We develop a new methodological approach to decompose the average treatment effect on the treated...

Policy makers have turned to competition- based voluntary-enrollment programs as a cost-effective way to achieve preferred land uses. This paper studies bidder behavior in an innovative auction-based program in which farmers compete to sell and retire the right to develop their land. We derive a...

This study analyses whether the land tenure insecurity problem decreases long-term land improvements (liming and phosphorus fertilization) under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Nordic production conditions in the European Union (EU) countries, such as Finland. Our study suggests that...