This study focuses on two basic questions: Are voluntary programs effective in promoting higher environmental performance by participant firms? If so, which distinct areas of environmental performance are more likely to be improved by firms joining a voluntary environmental program? We address...

This study analyzes the initial implementation of the Sustainable Slopes Program a voluntary environmental initiative established by the U.S. National Ski Areas Association in partnership with federal and state government agencies. Our findings indicate that participation of western ski areas in...

Speed limits were introduced in the Lagoon of Venice in 2002 to reduce wave motion, which damages environmentally sensitive areas in the broader Lagoon as well as buildings in the city of Venice. In this paper, we estimate the welfare losses experienced by recreational boaters as a result of the...

Estimated total value for recreational shellfishing on Cape Cod was $7.4 million in 2002, based on results of a survey of 233 shellfish permit holders, a figure that has roughly kept pace with inflation based on a similar study conducted in 1975. The total value is made up of two components, the...

This paper uses a meta-analysis to explore the relationship between hypothetical bias and the price respondents are asked to pay. For public goods, the results clearly indicate a difference in the price elasticity between hypothetical and actual payment conditions. Since the bias increases for...

This article examines economic and legal constraints that determine whose losses are included in natural resource damages as a result of an oil spill or hazardous-substance release. For example, the article describes the circumstances under which use losses experienced by young children would...

Individuals are widely believed to overstate their economic valuation of a good by a factor of two or three. This paper reports the results of a meta-analysis of hypothetical bias in 28 stated preference valuation studies that report monetary willingness-to-pay and that used the same mechanism...

Valuing the environment is an extremely difficult and contentious issue. Courts have struggled with this issue in determining natural resource damages (NRD) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA)....

The article considers the concept of the circular economy as an important tool for achieving sustainable development, which relates to the preservation of renewable resources’ mass through the renewal of withdrawn resources and the restoration of disturbed ones. It is directly linked to...

A contingent valuation survey conducted in Mississippi is used to assess public willingness to pay for reductions in agricultural nonpoint pollution. We focus on implementation of a policy to provide farmers with precision application equipment to reduce nutrient runoff. Findings suggest public...