An individual’s rate-of-time-preference is an important consideration for individuals deciding whether to support a public good, since the benefits of a public good often come in the future. Our study finds individual discount rates from a contingent valuation method (CVM) question where the...

The kind of open space benefit, recreation, or amenity, in our spatial city model determines in part how open space influences residential development. Our model also determines the exact total social benefits of open-space policies by summing together the change in household welfare and...

Bio-invasions occur in management mosaics where local control affects spread and damage across political boundaries. We address two obstacles to local implementation of optimal regional control of a bio-invasion that damages public and private resources across jurisdictions: lack of local funds...

Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire), a phloem-feeding beetle native to Asia, was discovered near Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario in 2002. As of March 2009, isolated populations of emerald ash borer (EAB) have been detected in nine additional states and Quebec. EAB is a...

Rigorous assessments of the economic impacts of introduced species at broad spatial scales are required to provide credible information to policy makers. We propose that economic models of aggregate damages induced by biological invasions need to link microeconomic analyses of site-specific...

Urban trees can store carbon through the growth process and reduce fossil fuel use by lowering cooling and heating energy consumption of buildings through the process of transpiration, shading, and the blocking of wind. However, the planting and maintenance of urban trees come at a cost. We...

The benefits of large patches of tree canopy are estimated by applying a hedonic price model to the sale of single-family residential properties in Portland, Oregon. The first-stage analysis provides evidence of diminishing returns from increasing tree canopy past a certain level. The...