This paper identifies and synthesises strategic opportunities and challenges facing New Zealand’s sheep meat and beef sector over the next 10 to 15 years. A Delphi surveydraws on the sector’s collective knowledge and identifies areas of consensus anddivergence of opinion. Using the results...

Multi-Agent Simulation (MAS) models are intended to capture emergent properties of complex systems that are not amenable to equilibrium analysis. They are beginning to see some use for analysing agricultural systems. The paper reports on work in progress to create a MAS for specific sectors in...

In most urban cities across Australia, water restrictions remain the dominant policymechanism to restrict urban water consumption. The extensive adoption of waterrestrictions over several years means that Australian urban water prices have consistently not reflected the opportunity cost of water...

This article deals with the optimal differentiation of agri-environmental contracts based on a self-selection mechanism. The paper demonstrates that both economic efficiency and effectiveness of public expenditures can be increased, if a menu of combinations of farming practices and payments are...

Benefit transfer entails using estimates of non-market values derived at one site as approximations to benefits at other sites. The method finds favour because it can be applied quickly and cheaply, however the validity of benefit transfer is frequently questioned. Published studies generally...

The greenhouse sector has reinvented itself as a technologically advanced and relatively environmentally friendly industry over the past 15 years. However it remains a high energy user. Two recent surveys have highlighted the potential impact on greenhouse grower costs of the proposed emissions...

The 2002 New Zealand Transport Strategy states that in the long run, economic development and transport activity need not be directly related. This implies that a degree of „decoupling‟ is required – that economic development needs to occur without similar growth in transport. Before...

The use of economic tools such as the benefit-cost analysis often requires determining non-market values of environmental goods. One of the appropriate measures to determine these values is the contingent valuation. As a stated preference technique it allows to measure non-use values as well as...

Market-based instruments (MBIs) for resource management create financial incentives for people and businesses to use resources more efficiently, within a regulatory context designed to ensure that ecological, social and cultural objectives are also met. Three case studies were done to identify...

The understanding of how allocation decisions can maximise the economic returns to the community from water for irrigation has received little attention, but is a significant issue for regional councils, those interested in water allocation policy development, and for irrigated farmers. There is...