Paul E Chambers

University of Central Missouri

We conduct several analyses to examine the link between threatened and endangered species listings and macroeconomic activity. Preliminary tests using ordinary least squares are run on both time series data on the national level and cross sectional data at the state level. The analysis is then extended using vector autoregressive (VAR) techniques....

In this paper we develop a model of population dynamics using the Shannon entropy index, a measure of diversity that allows for global and specific population shocks. We model the effects of increasing the number of parcels on biodiversity, varying the number of spatially diverse parcels to capture risk diversification. We discuss the concepts of s...

ABSTRACT Nongovernmental organizations frequently receive donations of land that have unknown characteristics. This paper presents an analytical model of the option to preserve such land. The nongovernmental organizations' option value arises from the option to preserve or sell the land to generate funds for other preservation projects. We show tha...

The focus of this paper is on a specific component of the capital punishment debate: delays in capital punishment. Although the legal justifications for delays in capital punishment cases, such as the right of the writ of habeas corpus, are well known, the analysis of the economic costs and benefits of delaying executions is limited. Fluctuations i...

A two-stage game is used to evaluate the effectiveness of untied aid in reducing transboundary emissions. The donor nation (North) has incomplete information regarding the political willingness of the recipient (South) to enforce emission standards. The South may be tough or weak on pollution. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the...

In April of 1998, the World Trade Organization pronounced the US Sea Turtle Conservation Act in violation of the GATT. This paper presents a stylized Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson model in which the fatal entrapment of sea turtles in nets of the shrimping industry is a negative externality that reduces global utility. Three trade equilibria are simulat...

Dorfman (1973) anticipates increases in international trade when pollution abatement reduces damage to polluted industries. We simulate the effect of abatement with a Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson model of a production on production externality. Both countries are Pigouvian and two levels of abatement effectiveness are endogenized. Although more effect...

This article employs the contingent valuation method (CVM) to measure the non- market value of preservation of the Ste. Genevieve Academy, a quasi-public good. This study represents a new application of the CVM featuring a historical resource. As such, the authors explore the validity and reliability of this application of the method. Construct val...

State agencies and private historical organizations frequently acquire historical sites with unknown characteristics. In this paper, we provide two approaches to evaluating the preservation decision. In the first approach, we show that a historical site which is not permanently preserved provides citizens with a certain flexibility whose value can...

Recently, nongovernmental organizations have engaged in debt-for-nature swaps in an effort to slow the rate of deforestation. The purpose of this paper is to provide analysis of the welfare properties that arise to self-enforcing swaps. We show that swaps may be self-enforcing in that they can arise as noncooperative equilibria at high harvest and...

We use hedonic techniques to estimate the implicit prices of various characteristics of backpacks. Previously, the hedonic method has been used to assess the value of individual characteristics of many goods, including computers, automobiles, and housing. Since theory does not suggest a specific functional form, we perform a Box-Cox search for the...

This paper presents an analytical model of the option to preserve environmental goods motivated by the existence of debt-for-nature swaps. Conservation organizations' option value arises from the option to reject or accept the terms of a bargain concerning the exchange of the debt holding of a conservation organization for land preservation. From t...