An Agent-Based Model of Border Enforcement for Invasive Species Management

"This paper presents a model of border enforcement in order to address trade-related invasive species risk. An agent-based modeling (ABM) framework was developed based on a theoretical economic model that incorporates a spatially explicit damage function. The framework was applied to a representative commodity (broccoli), invasive species (crucifer flea beetle), ports-of-entry (Calexico and Otay Mesa U.S./Mexico land ports), and vulnerable location (California). The ABM evaluated the economic impacts of port-specific and importer-specific enforcement regimes, enabling regulators to improve both the allocation of scarce enforcement resources and the effectiveness of current enforcement policies. The analysis generated several policy relevant findings concerning importing firm behavior and suggests conditions under which increasing enforcement may or may not significantly reduce invasive species risk and associated crop damages. The analysis illustrates that with a more realistic parameterization, the ABM could be used to make real-world policy decisions concerning allocation of limited resources across ports-of-entry." Copyright (c) 2009 Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.