The profitability of power plant investments depends strongly on uncertain fuel and carbon prices. In this doctoral thesis, we combine fundamental electricity market models with stochastic dynamic programming to evaluate power plant investments under uncertainty. The application of...

We present solution methodologies for vehicle routing problems (VRPs) with stochastic demand, with a specific focus on the vehicle routing problem with stochastic demand (VRPSD) and the vehicle routing problem with stochastic demand and duration limits (VRPSDL). The VRPSD and the VRPSDL are...

Spatial and temporal issues are often important concepts within agricultural economics research. Understanding these issues and developing models that incorporate spatio-temporal frameworks can lead to more accuracy in answering important economic questions. This thesis uses the spatio-temporal...

Invasive alien trees and shrubs pose significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services in South African fynbos ecosystems. An ambitious initiative, the Working for Water program, commenced in 1995 to reduce the extent and impact of plant invasions. Despite substantial progress, the...

Different international plant protection organisations advocate different schemes for conducting pest risk assessments. Most of these schemes use structured questionnaire in which experts are asked to score several items using an ordinal scale. The scores are then combined using a range of...

Asian gypsy and nun moth introductions into the United States, possibly arriving on imported Siberian coniferous logs, threaten domestic forests and product markets and could have global market consequences. We simulate, using the Global Forest Products Model (a spatial equilibrium model of the...

Agricultural and wildlife trade is subject to sudden, disruptive import restrictions arising fromconcerns over sanitary and phytosanitary safety and the conservation of natural resources.These restrictions can create significant international price differences that encourage thesmuggling of...

Herein we model the widespread dispersal and management of an invasive species as a weak-link public good. The risk of introduction is driven in part by economic activity, is influenced by policies directed at the risk, and economic activity responds/adapts to the risk. Framed around recent...

Based on a previous study by Amador and Weill (2009), I study thediffusion of dispersed private information in a large economy subject to a”catastrophe risk” state. I assume that agents learn from the actions of oth-ers through two channels: a public channel, that represents learning...

Unchecked anthropogenic climate change has the potential to destroy human lives and wealth on an unprecedented scale. This dissertation analyzes from an economic perspective various public policy options to correct the market failures caused by climate change.The widespread adoption of...