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Temporal Spillovers in Land Conservation

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Abstract

Temporal spillovers occur when a conservation program changes the use made of a land parcel outside of the window of the conservation contract. This may happen when conservation improves land so that returns to non-conservation uses are increased, or when landowners' preferences become more pro-conservation as they see land flourish under conservation, for example. These post-contract changes may occur on the extensive margin (acres of land conserved) or intensive margin (intensity of land in a given use). If temporal spillovers exist, benefits from conservation programs estimated by focusing solely on the effects that occur during the conservation contract will overstate or understate the true benefits of the program. I lay out a simple model of temporal spillovers. I test this model in the context of the United States Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). I use a pre-analysis sample specification step to choose counterfactual land most like the CRP land. On the extensive margin, I find that CRP causes some land to be 22-27% more likely to be farmed, potentially offsetting some environmental benefits. However, farmed ex-CRP land is slightly more likely to use a conservation practice. This is a mitigating factor on the intensive margin.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Jacobson, 2010. "Temporal Spillovers in Land Conservation," Department of Economics Working Papers 2013-17, Department of Economics, Williams College, revised Feb 2014.
  • Handle: RePEc:wil:wileco:2013-17
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander Pfaff & Juan Robalino, 2017. "Spillovers from Conservation Programs," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 9(1), pages 299-315, October.
    2. Bård Harstad & Torben K. Mideksa, 2017. "Conservation Contracts and Political Regimes," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 84(4), pages 1708-1734.
    3. Cloé Garnache & Scott M. Swinton & Joseph A. Herriges & Frank Lupi & R. Jan Stevenson, 2016. "Solving the Phosphorus Pollution Puzzle: Synthesis and Directions for Future Research," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 98(5), pages 1334-1359.
    4. Tingting Liu & Randall J. F. Bruins & Matthew T. Heberling, 2018. "Factors Influencing Farmers’ Adoption of Best Management Practices: A Review and Synthesis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-26, February.
    5. Ruiqing Miao & Hongli Feng & David A. Hennessy & Xiaodong Du, 2014. "Assessing Cost-Effectiveness of the Conservation Reserve Program and its Interaction with Crop Insurance Subsidies," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 14-wp553, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    6. Yan, Youpei, 2017. "Unintended Land Use Effects of Afforestation in China," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258280, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Sahan T. M. Dissanayake & Sarah A. Jacobson, 2016. "Policies with varying costs and benefits: A land conservation classroom game," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 142-160, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Conservation Reserve Program; land use; environmental policy; farm policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • Q24 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Land
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns

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