There are only few states in the United States where state income relies heavily on tourism industry, and Vermont is one of them. Vermont has the advantage in possessing spectacular landscape, clean environment, and attractive agriculturally based rural community, which provide an excellent...

Nonpoint source pollution in the upstream areas of a water basin has become a serious threat to urban drinking water safety in China. Payment for environmental services (PES) is seen as a promising instrument to address the problem, for which one key information is the willingness to pay (WTP)...

The year 2008 witnessed the renewed interests in earthquake risk management and insurance in the People's Republic of China (PRC), after the Wenchuan earthquake hit the country in May. Located along the southeastern edge of the Euro-Asian Plate, the PRC has a relatively high seismicity, which is...

This paper examines the relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability in the People’s Republic of China by empirically estimating environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) models using provincial-level panel data from 1985 to 2005. The results show that there exists an...

Flood insurance, a component of catastrophe insurance, is universally available in only a few countries. In many countries, it is available in a restricted form and its conditions vary greatly. Coverage is usually denied to those regarded as relatively high risk for flooding. This working paper...

Upstream nonpoint source pollution has become a significant threat to urban drinking water safety in the People’s Republic of China. Payment for environmental services (PES) is seen as a promising mechanism to deal with the situation. In designing a sound PES, it is crucial to determine the...

Landowners are commonly not only better informed about their private cost of conservation than conservation agencies, but also frequently in a position to spend resources on improving their knowledge about contract-relevant parameters before signing a contract on offer. We extend and generalize...

This paper examines the relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability in the People’s Republic of China by empirically estimating environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) models using provincial-level panel data from 1985 to 2005. The results show that there exists an...

The developing world is looking for effective, creative ideas for upscaling clean, renewable energy. No place will gain more socially, economically, and environmentally from increased access to clean, reliable energy than poor, rural areas. Biomass energy, produced from animal and crop wastes,...