Christopher F. Dumas

Valuing Beach Access and Width with Revealed and Stated Preference Data

In this article we present results from a study of recreation demand for southern North Carolina beaches. We combine revealed preference and stated preference data in order to estimate the changes in recreation demand that might occur with beach nourishment and parking improvements necessary to satisfy the requirements for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cost-share. We illustrate the numerous ways that hypothetical bias in stated preference data can lead to increases in the estimates of the economic benefits of recreation and recreation quality improvement. Hypothetical bias affects estimates of the number of trips and slope coefficients. Hypothetical bias does not affect elasticity or consumer surplus per-trip estimates. When the product of trips and consumer surplus per trip is taken as an estimate of consumer surplus per season, hypothetical bias leads to upwardly biased seasonal consumer surplus estimates. These results suggest that stated preference recreation demand data, in isolation from revealed preference data, may be suitable for estimation of consumer surplus per trip but not consumer surplus per season.

Indirect effects of fish on macrophytes in Bays Mountain Lake : evidence for a littoral trophic cascade

SummaryWe began this experiment to test specific hypotheses regarding direct and indirect effects of fish predation on the littoral macroinvertebrate community of Bays Mountain Lake, Tennessee. We used 24 m2 enclosures in which we manipulated the presence and absence of large redear sunfish (Lepomis microlophus>150 mm SL), and small sunfish (L. macrochirus and L. microlophus <50 mm SL) over a 16-mo period. Here we report on effects of fish predation on gastropod grazers that appear to cascade to periphyton and macrophytes.Both large redear sunfish and small sunfish maintained low snail biomass, but snails in fish-free controls increased significantly during the first 2-mo of the experiment. By late summer of the first year of the experiment, the difference in biomass between enclosures with and without fish had increased dramatically (>10×). Midway through the second summer of the experiment, we noted apparent differences in the abundance of periphyton between enclosures containing fish and those that did not. We also noted differences in the macrophyte distribution among enclosures. To document these responses, we estimated periphyton cover, biovolume and cell size frequencies as well as macrophyte distributions among enclosures at the end of the experiment. When fish were absent, periphyton percent cover was significantly reduced compared to when fish were present. Periphyton cell-size distributions in enclosures without fish were skewed toward small cells (only 12% were greater than 200 m3), which is consistent with intense snail grazing. The macrophyte Najas flexilis had more than 60 x higher biomass in the fish-free enclosures than in enclosures containing fish; Potamogeton diversifolius was found only in fish-free enclosures. These results suggest a chain of strong interactions (i.e. from fish to snails to periphyton to macrophytes) that may be important in lake littoral systems. This contrasts sharply with earlier predictions based on cascading trophic interactions that propose that fish predation on snails would enhance macrophyte biomass.

Measuring the Impact of Sea-Level Rise on Coastal Real Estate: A Hedonic Property Model Approach

This study estimates the impact of sea‐level rise on coastal real estate in North Carolina using a unique integration of geospatial and hedonic property data. With rates of sea‐level rise approximately double the global average, North Carolina has one of the most vulnerable coastlines in the United States. A range of modest sea‐level rise scenarios based on the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report projections (2007) are considered for four counties of North Carolina - New Hanover, Dare, Carteret, and Bertie - which represent a cross‐section of the states coastline in geographical distribution and economic development. High‐resolution topographic LIDAR (light detection and ranging) data are used to provide accurate inundation maps for the properties that will be at risk under six different sea‐level rise scenarios. A simulation approach based on spatial hedonic models is used to provide consistent estimates of the property value losses. Considering just four coastal counties in North Carolina, the value of residential property loss without discounting in 2030 (2080) is estimated to be about

Gains from Trade, Inefficiency of Government Programs, and the Net Economic Effects of Trading

179 (

Valuing bag limits in the North Carolina charter boat fishery with combined revealed and stated preference data.

526) million for the mid‐range sea‐level rise scenarios. Low‐lying and heavily developed areas in the northern coastline are comparatively more vulnerable to the effect of sea‐level rise than the other areas.

The Cotton Acreage Effects of Boll Weevil Eradication: A County-Level Analysis

A great deal has been written on the inefficiencies of government farm programs and associated welfare effects (e.g., Just, Hueth, and Schmitz 1982; Gardner 1983, 1987; Schmitz, Sigurdson, and Doering 1986; Schmitz 1988). However, common measures of inefficiency and distributional impact have not addressed the following question: How are gains from trade and the inefficiencies of government programs related? From a policy perspective, knowing the trade impacts of government programs is at least as important as knowing the inefficiency effects. For example, is it possible for gains from trade to outweigh farm program inefficiencies? Alternatively, could it be that negative trade impacts combined with farm program inefficiencies create situations in which no trade would be preferred to trade under existing government policy distortions? In this paper we establish the link between classic ‘‘gains from trade’’ and the inefficiency of distortionary government programs. Using this framework, we show both theoretically and empirically that the net economic effects of trading can be negative (i.e., no trade would be preferred to trade under distortions). We show that

Production Economic Analysis of Black Sea Bass Juveniles to Support Finfish Mariculture Growout Industry Development in the Southeastern United States

We use telephone survey data on charter boat anglers to estimate demand models to value snapper-grouper and king mackerel bag limits in the North Carolina for-hire fishery. The telephone survey presents respondents with hypothetical situations about higher charter fees and lower snapper-grouper and king mackerel bag limits and asks about the number of trips they would take in each situation. Stated preference trip responses are used in a jointly estimated revealed and stated preference demand model. We find that reduction in the snapper-grouper bag limit from 15 to 7 fish would reduce the annual aggregate value of charter boat fishing by 29% due to quality effects. The reduction in the snapper-grouper bag limit would reduce the number of charter boat fishing trips by 25%. JEL Classification Code: Q22, Q26, Q51

The Potential Economic Benefits of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems: The Southeast Atlantic Region

The success of the Boll Weevil Eradication (BWE) Program is believed to be one factor underlying the recent increase in cotton acreage in the Southeast. We find weak evidence that the initial, eradication phase of the BWE program decreases cotton acreage, and strong evidence that the second, maintenance phase of the program increases acreage. The full benefits associated with a BWE program may not become apparent until acreage adjustments occur, four to five years after program initiation. Our results indicate that for a representative sample county neglecting acreage effects may lead to underestimation of BWE program net benefits by 9 percent-12 percent.

Preface to “Making the Connection: Translating Science into Effective Coastal Policy”

A pilot-scale finfish mariculture hatchery was established at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. In 2011, research-based hatchery protocols were scaled up to produce 37,000 advanced (1–5 g) black sea bass fingerlings. Based on engineering, biological, and cost data from operating the pilot hatchery, an economic analysis of a hypothetical commercial scale black sea bass hatchery operation was conducted. The financial performance of two alternative facilities that produce 97,200 5-g and 388,800 1-g fingerlings per year over a 30-year project life showed cumulative net present value (NPV) of

A recreation demand model of the North Carolina for-hire fishery: a comparison of primary and secondary purpose anglers

445,000, and