Roger H. von Haefen

Serial Nonparticipation in Repeated Discrete Choice Models

We consider alternative econometric strategies for addressing serial nonparticipation, that is, repeated choice of the same alternative or same type of alternative across a series of choice occasions, in data typically analyzed within the repeated discrete choice framework. Single and double hurdle variants of the repeated discrete choice model are developed and applied to choice experiment and multisite seasonal recreation demand data. Our results suggest that hurdle models can generate significant improvements in statistical fit and qualitatively different policy implications, particularly in choice experiment applications where the proper treatment of serial nonparticipation is relatively more ambiguous.

Distributional and Efficiency Impacts of Gasoline Taxes: An econometrically-based multi-market study

Because of its potential to improve the environment and enhance national security, reducing automobile-related gasoline consumption has become a major U.S. public policy issue. Recently, many analysts have called for new or more stringent policies to discourage gasoline consumption. Proposals include a tightening of corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards and subsidies to retirements of older (gasguzzling) vehicles, as well as increments to the federal gasoline tax (...).

Recreation Costs of Endangered Species Protection: Evidence from Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Management of public lands often involves competing uses and difficult tradeoffs. In this article, we examine the impact of an economically important, policy-relevant public land management regulation designed to protect coastal biodiversity. We focus our attention on the land use conflict at Cape Hatteras National Seashore between off-road vehicle (ORV) access and nesting habitat protection for a number of endangered species. We combine site choice and participation data to estimate a repeated discrete choice model of recreational angler behavior in response to time-varying access restrictions. Our results suggest the economic costs of this policy are relatively modest, ranging from

Conservation Policies: Who Responds to Price and Who Responds to Prescription?

403,000 to

Chapter 12 Estimating the Demand for Quality with Discrete Choice Models

2.07 million annually. Our results provide general support for the National Park Service’s recently implemented ORV management plan, as an upper bound of recreation costs is likely less than conservative estimates of the benefits associated with endangered species protection.

Distributional and Efficiency Impacts of Increased US Gasoline Taxes

The efficiency properties of price and nonprice instruments for conservation in environmental policy are well understood. However, there is little evidence comparing the effectiveness of these instruments, especially when considering water resource management. We exploit a rich panel of residential water consumption data to examine heterogeneous responses to both price and nonprice conservation policies during times of drought while controlling for unobservable household characteristics. Our empirical models suggest that among owners of detached, single-family homes in six North Carolina municipalities, relatively low-income households are more sensitive to price and relatively high-consumption households are less sensitive to price. However, prescriptive policies such as restrictions on outdoor water use result in uniform responses across income levels, while simultaneously targeting reductions from households with irrigation systems and historically high consumption.

Identifying demand parameters in the presence of unobservables: A combined revealed and stated preference approach

In this chapter, we describe how random utility maximization (RUM) discrete choice models are used to estimate the demand for commodity attributes in quality-differentiated goods. After presenting a conceptual overview, we focus specifically on the conditional logit model. We examine technical issues related to specification, interpretation, estimation, and policy use. We also discuss identification strategies for estimating the role of price and non-price attributes in preferences when product attributes are incompletely observed. We illustrate these concepts via a stylized application to new car purchases, in which our objective is to measure preferences for fuel economy.