Market failure results in more human conversion of ecosystems for development and other uses than likely socially desirable. In response, many government agencies and nonprofits focus on conservation, often acquiring land rights to establish protected areas on which further conversion of...

The size of the protected area is recognized as one of the key attributes for assessing the effectiveness of investing in protected areas. We evaluate the effectiveness of protected areas by examining economies of scale in size and the average cost of acquiring protected areas depending on the...

The main objective of this research is to propose a data-driven approach to estimate the amenity values of restoring urban forest landscapes at potential target sites. The approach allows establishing the overall price-driving time relationship between the amenity values attributable to both...

This study estimates the effects of an urban growth boundary (UGB) on land development decisions in Knox County, TN, using a heteroscedastic probit model. With combined efforts of increased land development within the city boundary and decreased development within the UGB and the neighboring...

This study compares an ordered probit model and a Tobit model with selection to take into account both true zero and protest zero bids while estimating the willingness to pay (WTP) for conservation easements in Macon County, NC. By comparing the two models, the ordered/unordered selection issue...

The objective of this research is to evaluate a land value tax as a potential policy tool to moderate sprawling development in Nashville, TN, the nation’s most sprawling metropolitan community with a population of one million or more. To achieve this objective, the hypothesis is empirically...

In this paper, a theoretical model is developed to analyze the interactions among residential development, land use regulations, and public financial impacts (public expenditure and property tax). A simultaneous equations system with self-selection and discrete dependent variables is estimated...

This research evaluates the effects of a hypothetical land value tax as a smart growth policy to curtail urban sprawl in the mid-sized metropolitan areas of the Southeastern United States. The effectiveness of a hypothetical land value tax on moderating urban sprawl is determined by changes in...