This paper considers the use of a “combinatorial optimization” technique in the aggregation of environmental benefit values. Combinatorial optimization is used to statistically match population census data to a Contingent Valuation survey. The matched survey and census information is then...

This paper, using Ireland as a case study, examines the relationship between economic activities and river water quality. The stipulation from the EU water framework directive (WFD) that all surface waters in the EU must be of ‘good ecological status’ by 2015 necessitate a quantitative...

In order to develop a policy framework and guidelines for improving a national approach to the management of Irish coastal regions and associated resources one first needs to be able to define what is meant by ‘a coastal region’ in an Irish context and secondly to know how the socio-economic...

Contingent valuation has been used extensively in estimating the value of environmental goods. One criticism of this approach, however, is that respondents in referendum-style contingent valuation surveys may express citizen assessments that take into account benefits to others rather than...

Irish fishing waters are currently governed as part of the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union. Under this regime, policies of strict regulation are employed to provide both an ecologically sustainable resource and an economically sustainable industry. These measures, however, have not...

This paper measures willingness to pay (WTP) for public access and trail improvements to a coastal recreational site in the west of Ireland. The Contingent Behaviour model is used to measure the increased number of trips associated with improved public access using recreational trails along a...

Multi-attribute revealed preference data is used to investigate the heterogeneity of tastes in a sample of kayakers, in relation to eleven whitewater sites in Ireland. The paper focuses on a comparison of the analysis of preference heterogeneity using a random parameter logit model and a latent...

In this paper, we compare many of the widely available estimated global benefits of abatement with the costs to Irish agriculture, as estimated by the CAPRI model. We apply the model to Ireland only, in a simple comparative static simulation, and assume fixed prices. We focus more on methane...

We adapt the standard random utility model to take account of the heterogeneity of recreational preferences by using what we call a “clustered conditional logit framework”. By separating out our sample of whitewater kayakers into two exogenously identifiable groups (based on their skill...

This paper?s contribution to the understanding of outdoor recreational pursuits in Ireland comes from the estimation of the first whitewater kayaking demand function. This paper is also unique in that it combines data collected from two different sources; the internet and an on-site survey, thus...