Paul Isely

Addressing the Information Gaps Associated with Valuing Green Infrastructure in West Michigan: INtegrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services Tool (INVEST)

ABSTRACT Land use change is profoundly influencing the environmental resources of the Great Lakes region. In West Michigan, population growth and rapid land use change have resulted in urbanization and a loss in the diversity of green infrastructure that provides a variety of benefits-ecosystem services-to regional residents and visitors. To address these changes in land use and cover in ways that are objective, transparent, and defensible, local policy makers need tools to help inform local and regional land use decisions. An interdisciplinary team, engaged by a regional policy organization, developed one such online tool, the INtegrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services Tool (INVEST). INVEST utilizes static GIS maps, graphs, and tables, to help educate local and regional decision-makers about the underlying values of ecosystem services associated with green infrastructure, particularly those services that do not pass through traditional commercial markets. In this article we provide a general overview of the development of INVEST and examine its current application as an educational tool, including the specific challenges associated with addressing the information gaps.

Primary market and aftermarket competition in the bicycle component industry

This study examines the bicycle component industry. This industry is characterized by one dominant firm, Shimano Inc., and four or five smaller players. Firms in the component industry produce components for sale in two related markets, the market for original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and the component aftermarket. A unique data set containing information on aftermarket prices and OEM market shares is used to determine whether or not market power in the aftermarket is a function of OEM market power. The results indicate that concentration in the OEM market is positively related to aftermarket price, while an individual firms OEM market share is inversely related to aftermarket price.

The Relationship between Aid and Debt in Developing Countries

This paper constructs a model in which debt and aid are complementary. Specifically, the model shows how aid can be extracted from industrialized country governments by LDCs to finance debts. Policy implications for understanding debt crises are outlined. Using recent World Bank data, the fundamental equations of the model are estimated. While it is found that the model overestimates the actual amount of aid and debt, the relationship between aid, GDP and absorption; and debt, aid, GDP and absorption is of the predicted direction.

An integrated assessment for wind energy in Lake Michigan coastal counties

The benefits and challenges of onshore and offshore wind energy development were assessed for a 4-county area of coastal Michigan. Economic, social, environmental, and spatial dimensions were considered. The coastal counties have suitable wind resources for energy development, which could contribute toward Michigans 10% renewable energy standard. Wind energy is cost-effective with contract prices less than the benchmark energy price of a new coal-fired power plant. Constructing a 100 MW wind farm could have a

Building partnerships to address conservation and management of western Michigan's natural resources

54.7 million economic impact. A patchwork of township-level zoning ordinances regulates wind energy siting. Voluntary collaborations among adjacent townships standardizing the ordinances could reduce regulatory complexity. A Delphi Inquiry on offshore wind energy in Lake Michigan elicited considerable agreement on its challenges, but little agreement on the benefits to coastal communities. Offshore turbines could be acceptable to the participants if they reduced pollution, benefited coastal communities, involved substantial public participation, and had minimal impact on property values and tourism. The US Coast Guard will take a risk-based approach to evaluating individual offshore developments and has no plans to issue blanket restrictions around the wind farms. Models showed that using wind energy to reach the remainder of the 10% renewable energy standard could reduce SO2 , NOx , and CO2 pollution by 4% to 7%. Turbines are highly likely to impact the areas navigational and defense radar systems but planning and technological upgrades can reduce the impact. The integrated assessment shows that responsible wind energy development can enhance the quality of life by reducing air pollution and associated health problems and enhancing economic development. Policies could reduce the negative impacts to local communities while preserving the benefits to the broader region.

The effect of offshoring on knowledge flows in the US automobile industry

Abstract: Western Michigans inventory of natural resources includes Great Lakes sand dunes; grasslands; forests; wetlands; lakes, rivers, and streams; shorelines and riparian habitats; and unique farmland. All of these environmental assets are under continuous threat of fragmentation and development, and numerous efforts have been undertaken to protect them. Many of these local and regional efforts include some level of stakeholder involvement. Collaboration between scientists and local decision makers to address complex environmentalpolicy problems is not new, and emphasis on stakeholder communication and participation in watershed management and policy development has been increasing. We examined the differences in tackling natural resource management issues through community and academic partnerships at the local and regional levels from the views of 3 researcher participants in 2 case studies. We used the engagement framework outlined in van Kerkhoff and Lebel (2006) as context for a discussion of 2 case studies. The 1st involved a hybrid integration funders and participation facilitators approach to stormwater management in the Spring Lake Watershed. The 2nd involved a translation specialists approach to valuing ecosystem services in a 7-county region that incorporated a negotiation lobby groups component in a parcel-level demonstration. These case studies highlight the challenges associated with each of these approaches and describe the partnerships that resulted from these efforts.

Phragmites Removal Increases Property Values in Michigan’s Lower Grand River Watershed

In the growing literature on offshoring, little attention has been given to the impact on product innovation. In this paper we empirically investigate the connection between industry innovation and offshoring in manufacturing. Specifically, our focus is on how information flows to the US economy have been affected by the increase in manufacturing offshoring in the US automobile industry. We measure these knowledge spillovers using different aspects of patent data, namely foreign citations and inventor country of origin. Our results indicate that offshoring has resulted in increased knowledge spillovers to the USA, and that the quantity of such spillovers varies by country, with a positive spillover effect from offshoring to Mexico, China, South Korea and Taiwan, but little or no spillover effect from offshoring to Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the UK.

Local measured service revisited: A Southern Wisconsin test case

The presence of Phragmites australis, an invasive wetland plant, negatively affects coastal property values and home prices rise with distance from Phragmites. Home prices increased as distance to Phragmites increased at a rate of

Do Higher Grades Lead to Favorable Student Evaluations

3.90/meter. Removing Phragmites from a property so that the next closest Phragmites was 400 m away results in a property value increase of over

Feasibility assessment of remanufacturing, repurposing, and recycling of end of vehicle application lithium-ion batteries

1,500. Removing all Phragmites within 400 m of any property results in a total property value impact of