Choice experiments (CEs) are commonly used to estimate monetary values for characteristics of public goods, but there are unresolved design issues. The number of alternatives is one of them. Increasing the number of alternatives increases the potential information learned from a sample of a limited size, which may assist subjects in selecting a preferred alternative (referred as matching) or may make

The absence or presence of an alternative in a choice set may change the relative preference and predicted market share results. In this study, three groups of experiments are performed to determine if choice context influences consumer preference for orange juice from different countries of origin and using different production methods. Our results show that our participants consider that the importance

A multidisciplinary assessment of the sustainability status of 11 coastal small-scale fishery systems in the Brazilian Amazon was performed using the Rapfish method with 31 indicators representing six evaluation fields (ecological, economic, ethical, institutional, social, and technological). The method employs a constrained multidimensional scaling ordination technique; uncertainty is expressed through

Urban water demand management is key to water supply sustainability in high-density, water-stressed areas throughout the world, and emerging technologies could transform it. In particular, smart metering could allow for conserving water by dynamically changing prices to reflect water scarcity and supply cost variability. Yet, little is known on end-users’ reaction to short-term price changes, an essential

In sustainability analysis, human time is a crucial and overlooked societal limit. Some core countries overcome their time budgets and preserve their socio-economic structures by using energy and importing working time embodied in products and services. This paper analyses the roles of the United States, the European Union, and China in the international division of labor using the Multi-Scale Integrated

Reforms in irrigation management can make important contributions to reducing irrigation water scarcity. This paper attempts to examine the role of participatory irrigation management (PIM) in farmers’ mulched drip irrigation technology adoption decisions. It is based on a comparative analysis between government-promoted mulched drip irrigation technology (GMDIT) and localized self-governed mulched

This paper presents a spatial equilibrium model to analyses the leverage impact of the legality requirements in the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR). The EUTR is part of the EU's Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) program, which aims to stimulate legal wood production and sustainable forest management at global level. This leverage effect is an argument in favor of FLEGT but it has never

Transparency in resource revenue management is seen as an important strategy to avoid misuse and misappropriation. Theory predicts that transparency will allow citizens to gain information on revenue management; better informed citizens in turn will enter the debate on resource governance issues, voice concerns, and demand improved accountability if necessary. However, there is little micro-level evidence

Raising agricultural productivity in developing countries is often said to reduce poverty more than comparable growth arising from other sectors. This claim has frequently been based on casual theorising, rather than empirical evidence. Productivity growth generates additional income and must benefit someone, though not necessarily the poor. It is conceivable that most, or even all of the benefits

Food waste has drawn increasing public attention, and the high levels of estimated waste are largely considered to be a failure of our current food system. Recently, economists have begun to weigh in, showing food waste can emerge as the result of a complex equilibrium affected by consumers’ preferences for convenience; expectations about future food prices and availability; food safety concerns; producers’

The Canadian Arctic is a unique food producing region. Much of the food produced in the Canadian Arctic has a strong tie with Indigenous cultures and communities, is produced or harvested in a pristine environment, and features species not commonly consumed in other parts of Canada. Building upon previous work and using data from a survey of Canadian consumers featuring a discrete choice experiment

This study examines consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for organic wheat products exhibiting single labels, as well as multiple labels, including organic. The additional labels considered are related to the organic label (non‐genetically modified organism [non‐GMO]) or perceived as health‐promoting (gluten‐free, low‐carb, sugar‐free). Study data were collected using a consumer survey

This study examines preferences for local foods by two distinct consumer groups: local residents and tourists. In an incentive‐compatible framed field experiment, a series of dichotomous‐choice tasks involving oyster purchases were completed by 758 individuals: 341 local residents recruited at a Division of Motor Vehicles office and 417 tourists recruited at a beach ferry terminal. The experimental

Obtaining a Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) certificate provides horticultural institutions the exclusive right to produce and reproduce new varieties, which directly motivate new plant variety innovations. This study investigates how the grant and surrender lag of PBR certificates is influenced by the crop type and applicant characteristics using the Canadian Food Inspection Agency horticultural crop

Empirical research on preferential treatment for developing economies has generally not considered how relative preferential margins might influence market access to a given destination market. In this paper, we develop and apply two indices to measure the tariff component of bilateral and multilateral trade restrictions less developed countries face in a given export destination. These indices are

This article evaluates the short-term impacts of a fruit fly integrated pest management program in Peru. Exploiting arbitrary variation in the program’s intervention borders, we use a geographical regression discontinuity design to identify the program’s effects on agricultural outcomes. Pre-treatment balance tests show that producer and farm-level pre-treatment characteristics evolve smoothly at the

Region-specific groundwater policies are required to regulate groundwater extraction for agricultural irrigation and reduce climate change adaption externalities. We examine the semi-arid Seewinkel region in Austria and explore interactions between climatic, agronomic, hydrological, and socio-economic conditions and processes to provide policy advice. The assessment is conducted with a spatially explicit

The authors survey male and female environmental economists, who are members of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE), to determine if there are gender differences in views on environmental issues and policy. Controlling for organizational affiliation (academic, non-academic) and country of residence, we find general consensus in views on many issues by experts in the field

Coniferous sawnwood is the most important solid wood product in terms of its production volume and economic significance. It also plays a vital role in the forestry-forest industry value chain. We estimated price- and income elasticities for per capita softwood sawnwood consumption based on FAO data. Varying demand patterns are found across the regions. Only the countries with little supply from their

Exploiting the link between land identification and farm accountancy data, we use a uniquely detailed database to conduct a robust analysis of land fragmentation and its effect on technical inefficiency on dairy farms in Ireland. Using a stochastic production frontier model, our results show that the number of parcels, the average distance between parcels and the main farm, and the portion of land

This article analyses why Green National Accounting based on the SEEA system and/or a “Green GDP” have not been seriously integrated in policy making processes, despite the long-standing public concern that economic growth may harm the environment.. Combining a historical institutionalist and a public policy-oriented theoretical approach rooted in Political Science in order to understand this puzzle

Tropical dry forests covers 0.5 to 1.1 billion hectares which is about half of the tropical moist forest area. The forests fulfil many important ecological and economic functions and deliver manifold commodities for subsistence as well as for international demands. Despite their importance tropical dry forests seem to attain by far lesser attention than humid forests by the international research community

This article examines the phenomenon of uncertified producers of otherwise certifiable organic food embedded in value chains whose farm products conform to elevated environmental standards. Having embraced so called “beyond organic” cultivation approaches—including agroecology, biodynamic, and permaculture—producers undertaking restorative ecological practices on their farms are certification worthy

This study investigates the effect of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs on common pool resource management in the context of village collective-managed irrigation systems (VMISs) in China. Drawing on institutional bricolage theory, we propose that the functioning of a PES program depends on its combination with local institutions. We infer transaction cost-reduction and trust-strengthening

Disparities in food access and the resulting inequities in food security are persistent problems in cities across the United States. The nation's capital is no exception. The District of Columbia's 's geography of food insecurity reveals a history of uneven food access that has only been amplified by the vulnerability of food supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines the history

Forest ecosystems provide multiple services. In mountainous regions, protection against gravitational hazards is of particular importance. By preventing soil erosion and functioning as natural barriers and buffers, forests protect the population and infrastructure against avalanches and rock falls. The higher the forests' capacity to regulate and withstand external disturbances and adverse effects

The goal of this article is to develop further the promising theoretical framework that cross ecosystem services and capability approach developed by Pelenc and Ballet (2015) in a strong sustainability perspective. Given the multidimensional and deliberative aspect of Pelenc and Ballet's (2015) framework, the social multi-criteria evaluation (SMCE) methodology seems relevant to advance the operationalization

Livestock markets and marketing are crucial components of the agricultural transformation agenda in Ethiopia. There is, however, little or no scientific evidence for the demand for livestock market facilities to guide the national effort. Using panel data, we estimate the effect of livestock market shed provision on market participation and revenue from small ruminants in Central Ethiopia. Experimental

Forest ecosystems are notably influenced by: 1) the rate and spatial distribution of forest land development, and 2) how remaining undeveloped forest lands are managed. Regarding this second factor, economics and ecology research conducted in different locations in the U.S. suggests that increasing housing development can reduce the profitability of commercial timber production and thus the intensity

Pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) is known to reflect people's social preferences, time preferences and risk preferences. Previous research has tended to consider these in isolation, which means they may proxy for omitted ones, leading to biased estimates. Moreover, it has not considered ambiguity preferences, which for some PEBs is conceptually more relevant than risk preferences. Using a survey module

The ongoing COIVD19 pandemic has brought public attention to exponential growth dynamics. “Flatten the curve” has become the clarion call of public health systems around the world struggling to cope with the burgeoning pandemic. Can ecological economists use this “meme moment” to bring exponential growth into the public discourse on sustainability? We present a modest proposal rooted in the elementary

Indian internal migration is among the highest in the world, with 30% of the population migrating, often for work. Such population movement can alleviate poverty and reduce forest degradation. However, estimates of this double dividend are scarce. We estimate the potential of internal migration to alleviate poverty by exploring migrant characteristics and their investments. We then evaluate whether

Promotion is an overwhelming motivation for local cadres in China. In the past, local cadres used to compete in economic tournaments for career advancement. As the central government shifts to emphasizing environmental protection, it is critical to examine whether the changed incentive structure drives local cadres to pursue environmental protection. Adopting a database covering cadres and pollution

This paper assesses the distributional consequences of technical changes that improve the efficiency of land and of other inputs in a multifactor crop‐production system. We introduced an equilibrium displacement model (EDM) by using the specification of a factor‐augmenting approach. Given the uncertainty about the EDM parameters, a Monte Carlo simulation is used to produce a distribution of possible

The forest sector in various ways fosters employment, community development and prevents depopulation in marginalized rural areas. Since the economic recession in Europe from 2009, there has been a notable change regarding the roles that public and private actors play in tackling current social and economic problems. The term Social Innovation (SI) came up to denote the overcoming of complex societal

This study examines the wood trade in response to China's new logging ban policy in natural forests (LBNF). Our identification is based on a triple-difference (DDD) strategy, in which the variations in the staggered policy implementation with region and time, together with the different trade responses between forest products, are jointly exploited. Our estimates show that the LBNF simulates an additional

In this paper, we analyse the socio-economic determinants of wildfire crime in Italy through panel data at the regional level. The first aim of the paper is to evaluate whether socioeconomic variables suggested by crime theory are linked to wildfire crime in Italy. Using Poisson-type models it is found that social vulnerability factors such as poverty and unemployment play an important role in driving

Aquaculture is the fastest growing animal food producing sector in the world with an annual growth rate of 7%. In Norway alone production of this industry is projected to expand from 1.2 million tons today to 5 million tons by 2050, implying a rapid increase in the demand for sustainable salmon feed alternatives to conventional feed resources such as fish meal and fish oil. Yeast produced from nonfood

Consumer preferences for food produced using currently prohibited production methods matter, especially in relation to potential trade deals. We conduct four discrete choice experiments examining UK consumer attitudes for food produced using several agricultural production methods currently prohibited in the UK, including chlorine washed chicken. Our results reveal negative preferences for these forms

Forest cover has decreased dramatically in Southeast Asia over the last decades. Understanding the drivers behind these changes is critical to predict changes and minimise their adverse effects. The objectives of the present study were to provide accurate estimates of forest gains and losses in each country of Southeast Asia, and to test the hypothesis that changes in forest cover are linked to national

Despite widespread acknowledgement of the importance of entrepreneurship for poverty alleviation, studies on entrepreneurship are scant for farmers engaged in the production of non-timber forest products. This study, therefore, examines the entrepreneurial status of farmers involved in the production of non-timber forest products, focusing on those involved in a reforestation scheme in three forest

Family forest landowners own 39% of forestland in the United States. Here, we report that inequality in the distribution of family forestland, as measured by the Gini Index, has increased since 1993. The increase is not driving primarily by forest fragmentation, as the literature suggests, but instead by an 81% increase in area in tracts of more than 500 acres, especially in the Southern United States

This study aims to understand the economic and bio-physical conditions under which mussel farming is a cost-effective mitigation measure to improve water quality related to excess nitrogen in fjords and coastal areas. We set-up a mixed-integer optimization model including every farm in three agricultural catchments surrounding Limfjorden, the largest fjord in Denmark. We include a number of relevant

We discuss comparative static partial equilibrium approaches for large-scale monetary valuations of animal-mediated crop pollination. These approaches rely upon reported crop production values, own-price elasticities of demand and experimentally found dependence ratios that express crop-specific yield shares due to pollinators. We dismiss the established long-term approach given the difficulty of anticipating

Initiatives to promote community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) have been evaluated with mixed results in socio-economic and ecological outcome dimensions. In Namibia, community conservancies are being established since the 1990s mainly to reconcile wildlife conservation and rural development. As Namibia gears up for participation in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation

This paper examines the impact of the natural conservation policy in China's giant panda reserves on forest resource utilization and its economic consequences. Different support policies have created different development opportunities for local communities and farmers, which have led to changes in forest use by farmers and their forest-related livelihoods. The empirical results indicate that the use

Households are key actors in decarbonizing our economy, especially when it comes to investments in a decentralized energy system, such as solar photovoltaics (PV). The phasing-out of feed-in tariffs, and unexpected policy changes in the wake of an increasingly polarized climate debate, require residential PV investors to bear new risks. Conducting a discrete choice experiment coupled with a randomized

This paper empirically examines the effect of public attention to climate change and pollution on the weekly returns on US sustainability stock indices (i.e. the DJSI US and the FTSE4Good USA Index) in comparison to their conventional parent indices (i.e. the S&P 500 Index and the FTSE USA). In addition to unexpected global climate-related natural weather disasters, we consider two complementary measures

Floods in Germany have caused significant economic damage and are expected to become more frequent. The economic damage expected as a result of floods will affect households differently across income levels. A method, rooted in economic theory, is proposed to estimate changes in household welfare and income inequality resulting from expected flood damage. It is found that welfare losses after floods

Air-quality regulation was recently judged to be the most important ecosystem service (ES) provided by open landscape in Israel. However, the socioeconomic value of air-quality regulation (AQR) service may vary among the distinct landscape types providing it, especially where several drivers-of-change affect differently the ES flux at distinct ecosystem types. Using a choice experiment, we assessed

We measure the eco-efficiency (EE) of agricultural production in regard to soil erosion and decompose it into technical efficiency (TE) and soil conservation efficiency (SCE). Data Envelopment Analysis is applied to a panel of 135 Austrian crop farms. As a proxy for soil conservation behavior, we estimate C- and P-factors, frequently applied in Revised Universal Soil Loss Equations, at the parcel-level

The debate about the relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability triggers a range of associations. Here we analyze open-ended textual responses of citizens and scientists concerning their associations with the terms “economic growth” and “green growth”. We derive from the responses a number of topics and examine how associations differ across distinct opinion segments of people

Two major subsidy schemes for small-scale solar panels in Australia, namely feed-in tariffs (FiTs) and the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES), have substantial inequity implications. Higher household wealth is associated with larger subsidy receipts for both schemes. Using household-level data up to 2018, we find that the top wealth decile had higher subsidy receipts than any of the bottom

This paper has two objectives. The first is to estimate the value of implementing new coastal and marine conservation measures in Vietnam, focussing on the relative benefits of water quality improvements, coral conservation and control of marine plastic pollution. The second is to explicitly model any tendency of respondents to fail to give consideration to the “opt-out” or status quo option in a choice

International trade in ecological values is used to estimate the evolution of unequal ecological exchange of Latin America with developed regions, in the context of enhancing global value chains (1990–2015). The conceptual framework of unequal ecological exchange is operationalized using a multiregional input-output model to estimate the ecological exchange of Latin America with both developed and

We introduce a novel econometric approach to estimate economic pest control feedbacks within agroecological systems, using discrete choice endogenous sorting models. We apply this approach to deployment of transgenic Bt maize in the Philippines. We show with basic theory how areawide pest suppression from largescale Bt maize deployment attenuates farmers' demand for this technology. Econometric results

The challenge of aggregating research information for Torres Strait exists. Currently, research is often done in isolation. Now, more than ever, the aggregation of Torres Strait research information is needed to address climate change. Information aggregation leads to informed agency. Informed agency leads to best possible climate change policies and actions. Information markets can facilitate informed

This paper takes both value-added trade and trade-implied CO2 emission reduction responsibility into account, which constructs a unified conceptual framework to recalculate CO2 emission reduction responsibility from the perspective of value-added trade. This allows policymakers to trace worldwide CO2 emissions at multiple levels of trade, production, consumption, and shared principle alongside the

Using the concept of appropriation, the initial act of social metabolism, and other land use transition perspectives, this paper examines the land use transitions and landscape appropriation in the Colombian South Pacific region (CSP) across three historical periods: the Colonial period (16th–18th centuries), the opening of the liberal economy (19th century), and globalization (20th–21st centuries)

The critical role that Indigenous people play in natural resource management is globally recognized, with such endeavors frequently supported by Government and non-government funded programs. We explore the perceived impact of the knowledge-exchange opportunities arising from these programs, using data from a survey of Indigenous people from northern Australian communities involved in Indigenous land