Konstantinos Angelopoulos

Publications (8)7.21 Total impact

• Article: What drives long-run biodiversity change? New insights from combining economics, palaeoecology and environmental history

  Konstantinos Angelopoulos, Edward B. Barbier, Nick Hanley, Dugald Tinch, Althea Davies, Fiona Watson
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  ABSTRACT: This paper presents a new approach for understanding the effects of economic factors on biodiversity change over the long run. We illustrate this approach by studying the determinants of biodiversity change in upland Scotland from 1600 to 2000. The measure of biodiversity used is a proxy for plant species diversity, constructed using statistical analysis of palaeoecological (pollen) data. We assemble a new data set of historical land use and prices over 11 sites during this 400-year period; this data set also includes information on changes in agricultural technology, climate and land ownership. A panel model is then estimated that controls for both supply and demand shifts over time. A main result is that prices that act in our model as a proxy for livestock numbers do indeed impact on biodiversity, with higher prices leading to lower biodiversity.
  Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 01/2009; 57(1):5-20. · 2.17 Impact Factor
• Article: Economic determinants of biodiversity change over a 400‐year period in the Scottish uplands

  Nick Hanley, Althea Davies, Konstantinos Angelopoulos, Alistair Hamilton, Alasdair Ross, Dugald Tinch, Fiona Watson
  Journal of Applied Ecology 10/2008; 45(6):1557 - 1565. · 5.05 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: Dugald Tinch

  Article: Economic determinants of biodiversity change over a 400 year period in the Scottish uplands

  Konstantinos Angelopoulos, Althea Lynn Davies, Alistair Hamilton, Nick Hanley, Alasdair Ross, Dugald Tinch, Fiona J. Watson
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: This study shows how data from very different disciplines can be combined to address questions relevant to contemporary conservation and understanding. This novel, interdisciplinary approach provides new insights into the role of economic factors as a driver of biodiversity loss in the uplands. Biodiversity levels have varied considerably over 400 years, partly as a function of land management, suggesting that establishing baselines or "natural" target levels for biodiversity is likely to be problematic. Changes in livestock grazing pressures brought about by changes in prices had statistically significant effects on estimated plant diversity, as did land abandonment. This suggests that longterm management of upland areas for the conservation of diversity should focus on grazing pressures as a key policy attribute. Another policy implication is that drastic cuts in grazing pressures - such as might occur under current reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy - can have adverse biodiversity con sequences.
  University of Stirling, Department of Economics, Stirling Economics Discussion Papers. 01/2008;
• Source

  Available from: Dugald Tinch

  Article: What Drives Long-Term Biodiversity Change? New Insights from Combining Economics, Paleo-Ecology, and Environmental History

  Nick Hanley, Konstantinos Angelopoulos, Dugald Tinch, Althea Davies, Fiona Watson, Edward B. Barbier
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: This paper presents an econometric analysis of the relationship between economic and environmental factors and biodiversity change in Scotland over the period 1600-2000. Our main hypothesis is that economic development, as captured by changes in prices, technological improvements and management intensity, is a significant determinant of long-run biodiversity change. The measure of biodiversity used here is an estimate of plant species diversity, constructed by the authors using paleo-ecological analysis of pollen remains. We assemble a new data set of historical land use and price data over 11 sites during this 400 year period; this data set also includes information on long-run climate change and extreme weather events, as well as changes in agricultural technology, land tenure and land ownership. A panel model is then estimated, which controls for both supply and demand shifts over time. Our main result is that agricultural prices, which determine livestock numbers, do indeed impact on biodiversity, with higher prices leading to lower diversity scores, due to their influence on production. No significant direct effects of either changes in technology or climate are detected.
  Environmental Economics eJournal. 08/2007;
• Article: Economic determinants of biodiversity change over a 400 year period in the Scottish uplands

  Nick Hanley, Althea Lynn Davies, Konstantinos Angelopoulos, Alistair Hamilton, Alasdair D. Ross, Dugald Tinch, Fiona J. Watson
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: This study shows how data from very different disciplines can be combined to address questions relevant to contemporary conservation and understanding. This novel, interdisciplinary approach provides new insights into the role of economic factors as a driver of biodiversity loss in the uplands. Biodiversity levels have varied considerably over 400 years, partly as a function of land management, suggesting that establishing baselines or “natural” target levels for biodiversity is likely to be problematic. Changes in livestock grazing pressures brought about by changes in prices had statistically significant effects on estimated plant diversity, as did land abandonment. This suggests that longterm management of upland areas for the conservation of diversity should focus on grazing pressures as a key policy attribute. Another policy implication is that drastic cuts in grazing pressures – such as might occur under current reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy - can have adverse biodiversity consequences.
• Article: What Drives Long-Run Biodiversity Change? New Insights from Combining Economics, Paleoecology and Environmental History

  Nick Hanley, Dugald Tinch, Konstantinos Angelopoulos, Althea Davies, Edward B. Barbier, Fiona Watson
  Edward B Barbier.
• Source

  Available from: Dugald Tinch

  Article: What drives long-run biodiversity change? New insights from combining economics, palaeoecology and environmental history

  Nick Hanley, Dugald Tinch, Konstantinos Angelopoulos, Althea Lynn Davies, Edward B. Barbier, Fiona J. Watson
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: This paper presents a new approach for understanding the effects of economic factors on biodiversity change over the long run. We illustrate this approach by studying the determinants of biodiversity change in upland Scotland from 1600 to 2000. The measure of biodiversity used is a proxy for plant species diversity, constructed using statistical analysis of palaeoecological (pollen) data. We assemble a new data set of historical land use and prices over 11 sites during this 400-year period; this data set also includes information on changes in agricultural technology, climate and land ownership. A panel model is then estimated that controls for both supply and demand shifts over time. A main result is that prices that act in our model as a proxy for livestock numbers do indeed impact on biodiversity, with higher prices leading to lower biodiversity.
• Article: Economic determinants of biodiversity change over a 400-year period in the Scottish uplands

  Nick Hanley, Althea Lynn Davies, Konstantinos Angelopoulos, Alistair Hamilton, Alasdair D. Ross, Dugald Tinch, Fiona J. Watson
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: 1. Economic forces are recognized as an important driving factor behind current biodiversity losses. This study investigates whether such factors have been important in determining one measure of biodiversity change over the 'long run'– in our case, 400 years – for upland sites in Scotland. 2. A combination of palaeoecological, historical and economic methods is used to construct and then analyse a database of factors contributing to changes in plant diversity over time for 11 upland sites. 3. Using an instrumental variables panel model, we find livestock prices, our proxy for grazing pressure, to be a statistically significant determinant of diversity change, with higher grazing pressures resulting in lower diversity values on average, although site abandonment is also found to result in a fall in plant diversity. Technological change, such as the introduction of new animal breeds, was not found to be a statistically significant determinant. 4. Using later period data (post 1860) on livestock numbers at the parish (local) level, we were able to confirm the main result noted above (3) in terms of the effects of higher grazing pressures on plant diversity. 5. Synthesis and applications. This study shows how data from very different disciplines can be combined to address questions relevant to contemporary conservation and understanding. This novel, interdisciplinary approach provides new insights into the role of economic factors as a driver of biodiversity loss in the uplands. Biodiversity levels have varied considerably over 400 years, partly as a function of land management, suggesting that establishing baselines or 'natural' target levels for biodiversity is likely to be problematic. Changes in livestock grazing pressures brought about by changes in prices had statistically significant effects on estimated plant diversity, as did land abandonment. This suggests that long-term management of upland areas for the conservation of diversity should focus on grazing pressures as a key policy attribute. Another policy implication is that drastic cuts in grazing pressures – such as might occur under current reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy – can have adverse biodiversity consequences.