Steven D. Shultz

The Use of Census Data for Hedonic Price Estimates of Open Space Amenities and Land Use

Hedonic price models for determining marginal implicit prices of open-space amenities and nonresidential land use were estimated using housing data from the census. Alternative model specifications were compared to evaluate the effects of aggregating land-use data by alternative levels of census geography as well as the use of different sample sizes of census blocks. It was determined that land use is best aggregated at the block group level and that entire populations or very large sample sizes of census blocks should be used with hedonic models.

Opportunities and limitations of contingent valuation surveys to determine national park entrance fees: evidence from Costa Rica

A contingent valuation method (CVM) survey to determine foreign and resident willingness to pay (WTP) for return visits to two different Costa Rican national parks was administered in 1995. WTP values were estimated for future entrance fees associated with proposed improvements to infrastructure and services in the Poas Volcano and the Manuel Antonio parks. Resulting logistic CVM models were statistically robust and mean WTP for entrance fees differed among the parks and were considerably higher than current fees. Results indicate that even in a developing country setting, the CVM is a useful tool to help determine park entrance fees in spite of the following methodological limitations which are recommended for further study: the need to include potential park visitors in survey samples; the lack of detailed information framing and contingent scenarios for park related WTP questions; and the threat of cultural-strategic biases when surveying residents of a developing country.

POISSON COUNT MODELS TO EXPLAIN THE ADOPTION OF AGRICULTURAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES BY SMALL FARMERS IN CENTRAL AMERICAN COUNTRIES

Evaluations of the factors influencing the adoption of agricultural and natural resource management technologies among small farmers in developing countries have been mostly limited to qualitative discussions or simple descriptive statistics resulting in superficial and inconclusive findings. This study introduces the use of Poisson Count Regressions as a statistically appropriate procedure to analyze certain common types of adoption data. It uses them to assess the impact of key socio-economic, bio-physical, and institutional factors on the adoption of integrated pest management, agroforestry, and soil conservation technologies among small farmers in three Central American countries: Costa Rica, Panama, and El Salvador.

Implicit Prices of Wetland Easements in Areas of Production Agriculture

Impacts of Fish and Wildlife Service wetland easements on agricultural land values in North Dakota were estimated by regressing sale prices on physical and institutional characteristics of sold parcels. While easements on temporary wet-lands did not influence prices, each additional acre of permanent wetland under easement decreased average prices by

Linking people to watershed protection planning with a gis: A case study of a central American Watershed

321 (–79%). Because non-eased permanent wetlands were shown to reduce land prices by

Accuracy of HAZUS General Building Stock Data

161/acre, we can estimate the implicit price of a wetland easement per se to be

Correcting HAZUS General Building Stock Structural Replacement Cost Data for Single-Family Residences

160/ acre—6% below historical easement payment levels in the study area. (JEL Q15, Q32)

Floodplains and housing values: implications for flood mitigation projects

In the Pacuare River Watershed in Costa Rica, farm size, ownership, and production data were collected and spatially referenced through global positioning surveys and farmer assessments of property boundaries in relation to cadastral maps and air photographs. Using geographic information system (GIS) based spatial overlays, these data were integrated with previously collected land use and land degradation data. The resulting integrated database allowed for land use and degradation data to be classified by alternative farm sizes in order to assess the individual needs and relative priority of a soil conservation program for different farms. In spite of limited funding and many technical and data constraints in Central America, such GIS‐based methodologies linking farms and people to biophysically based land use and degradation are seen as a feasible and cost‐effective approach to plan and implement soil conservation and other types of natural resource management projects.

The feasibility of restoring previously drained wetlands to reduce flood damage

AbstractThe accuracy of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s HAZUS general building stock (HGBS), widely used to estimate potential monetary damage to building structures from floods, earthqua...

Augmenting Housing Sales Data to Improve Hedonic Estimates of Golf Courses

AbstractAlternative approaches are taken to correct HAZUS General Building Stock (HGBS) replacement cost data for single-family residences in Sarpy County, Nebraska, which are 92% higher than tax a...