Currently rates of planting lag far behind levels that would be expected from a comparison of the returns from farm forestry with competing agricultural alternatives. Previous research has focused on the role of economic factors such as government subsidies, returns from competing agricultural...

This paper explores the attitudes of landowners across Ireland to the wider provision of public access for recreational walking using a multinomial logit model. The study investigates the level of compensation required to improve the supply of this public good. Results indicate that 51% of...

Despite the potential benefits accruing from use of the rural landscape access to farmland is a contentious issue with many landowners restricting public access. Within this context, this paper first explores general public preferences and willingness to pay for farmland walking trails in the...

We propose a multi-stage modelling approach for simultaneously estimating the total number and aggregate value of recreation-related visits to a small-scale community forest in the West of Ireland. Simulated spatially-referenced individuals from a spatial microsimulation model for Ireland...

This research utilises a contingent behaviour valuation technique to value a number of improvements to recreational facilities in small-scale forests in Ireland. Willingness–to-pay estimates have previously been made for Coillte (Ireland’s state-owned forestry company) trails and forests....

This policy paper reviews the sustainability literature, with a view to furthering research in the area of the sustainability of Irish agriculture. This is the first component of a larger project currently being undertaken by the authors to assess the effect of policy reform on the economic,...

This paper analyses the effect accessibility has on General Practitioner (GP) utilisation rates at the sub-national level for Ireland. Specifically, the aim of this paper is to estimate whether there is an urban/rural differential in GP utilisation rates. We do this by simulating micro-level...

During the last decade, as the population of Ireland has become increasingly urbanised, there has been an increase in demand for outdoor recreational pursuits. Increased affluence, mobility and changing values have also brought new demands with respect to landscape, conservation, heritage and...

Previous studies that have attempted to model the participation decision of farmers in agrienvironmental schemes have used a static framework where it was not possible to examine changes in the participation decision of farmers over time. This is rectified in this paper by utilising an 11 year...

Using discrete time duration models we examine the determinants of farmers entering and exiting the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme. We also extend our models to incorporate farm level heterogeneity (or “frailty”). We introduce this dynamic element into the models by using the random...