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The Bioeconomics of Honey Bees and Pollination

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  • A. Champetier
  • D. Sumner
  • J. Wilen

Abstract

We develop a model of beekeeping economics that incorporates within-year and between-year dynamics in the size of the honey bee population. Our model also accounts for the fact that the pollen and nectar collected by bees on crops are limiting resources for both bee growth and honey production. We argue that diminishing returns to foraging by bees is a central constraint of the economic problem of beekeeping and that availability of forage plays an important role in determining the abundance of honey bees. Furthermore, we show how the behaviors of individual beekeepers are aggregated through markets for bees and characterize the response of the beekeeping industry to changes in honey prices, winter losses, and other factors. Our model sets the bases for an empirical approach to estimate the relative contributions of different biological and economic factors to changes in honey bee populations in the United States over the past 60 years. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • A. Champetier & D. Sumner & J. Wilen, 2015. "The Bioeconomics of Honey Bees and Pollination," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 60(1), pages 143-164, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:60:y:2015:i:1:p:143-164
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-014-9761-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Gallai, Nicola & Salles, Jean-Michel & Settele, Josef & Vaissière, Bernard E., 2009. "Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 810-821, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Despina Popovska Stojanov & Lazo Dimitrov & Jiří Danihlík & Aleksandar Uzunov & Miroljub Golubovski & Sreten Andonov & Robert Brodschneider, 2021. "Direct Economic Impact Assessment of Winter Honeybee Colony Losses in Three European Countries," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-11, April.
    2. Ioannis Arzoumanidis & Andrea Raggi & Luigia Petti, 2019. "Life Cycle Assessment of Honey: Considering the Pollination Service," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, March.
    3. Fenton, Marieke & Goodrich, Brittney K. & Penn, Jerrod, 2025. "Measuring beekeepers' economic value of contract enhancements in almond pollination agreements," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    4. Goodrich, Brittney K. & Goodhue, Rachael E., 2020. "Are All Colonies Created Equal? The Role of Honey Bee Colony Strength in Almond Pollination Contracts," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    5. Antoine Champetier & Daniel A Sumner, 2019. "Marginal Costs and Likely Supply Elasticities for Pollination and Honey," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1373-1385.
    6. Jerome Faure & Lauriane Mouysset & Sabrina Gaba, 2021. "Combining incentives for pollination with collective action to provide a bundle of ecosystem services in farmland," Papers 2104.12640, arXiv.org.
    7. Luciano Pilati & Mario Prestamburgo, 2016. "Sequential Relationship between Profitability and Sustainability: The Case of Migratory Beekeeping," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, January.
    8. Narjes, Manuel Ernesto & Lippert, Christian, 2019. "The Optimal Supply of Crop Pollination and Honey From Wild and Managed Bees: An Analytical Framework for Diverse Socio-Economic and Ecological Settings," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 278-290.
    9. Zhang, Shemei & Ma, Jiliang & Zhang, Liu & Sun, Zhanli & Zhao, Zhijun & Khan, Nawab, 2022. "Does adoption of honeybee pollination promote the economic value of kiwifruit farmers? Evidence from China," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 19(14), pages 1-14.
    10. Goodrich, Brittney, 2016. "The Roles of Risk and Honey Bee Colony Strength in Determining Almond Pollination Contract Provisions," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236183, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. Goodrich, Brittney K & Williams, Jeffrey & Goodhue, Rachael E, 2018. "The Great Bee Migration: Spatial and Temporal Variation in Honey Bee Colony Shipments into California for Almond Pollination," 2018 Annual Meeting, February 2-6, 2018, Jacksonville, Florida 266657, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    12. Brittney K. Goodrich & Jeffrey C. Williams & Rachael E. Goodhue, 2019. "The Great Bee Migration: Supply Analysis of Honey Bee Colony Shipments into California for Almond Pollination Services," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 101(5), pages 1353-1372, October.
    13. Faure, Jérôme & Mouysset, Lauriane & Gaba, Sabrina, 2023. "Combining incentives with collective action to provide pollination and a bundle of ecosystem services in farmland," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    14. Goodrich, Brittney, 2016. "The Roles of Risk and Honey Bee Colony Strength in Determining Almond Pollination Contract Provisions," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 242324, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. Goodrich, Brittney K., 2019. "Do more bees imply higher fees? Honey bee colony strength as a determinant of almond pollination fees," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 150-160.

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