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Social capital and the policy response to externalities

Posted on:2009-05-06Degree:Ph.DType:Dissertation
University:The University of New MexicoCandidate:Prante, TylerFull Text:PDF
GTID:1449390002499237Subject:Agriculture
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With an emphasis on social capital, this dissertation analyzes the implementation of policy in response to externalities. The research begins by considering externalities generally before moving on to analyze the policy response to wildfire. The primary research is segmented into three related chapters. First, meta-analysis is used to statistically summarize the literature of Coasean bargaining experiments. This chapter models the probability of an efficient bargain as a function of: (1) measures of transaction costs and related variables, and (2) measures of the social dimensions of a bargain. Results suggest that efficient solutions are more likely when explicit transaction costs do not exist, in the absence of a binding time limit, and when participants have perfect information on payoff schedules. Social dimension variables are found to have the potential to affect bargaining outcomes and are an important avenue for further research. Next, revealed preference analysis is applied to a unique forest management program in New Mexico. The Collaborative Forest Restoration Program includes stakeholders actively in the creation and implementation of management on federal forested lands. Statistical analysis of the funding pattern from the program reveals that developing social capital and maintaining forest health stand out among a set of potentially divergent goals, while implementing projects that span multiple land jurisdictions is argued to be a missed opportunity for developing social capital. Finally, an economics experiment is used to analyze the effectiveness of a set of potential policy tools to induce private spending on wildfire risk-mitigation. While the results suggest the possibility of public spending replacing private spending, a policy prescription that ameliorates this crowding out is identified. A policy response that ties insurance availability to mitigation effort and disseminates information describing each participant's effort to the group is most effective at dampening crowding out. In some instances, the policy tools considered here also show the simultaneous effect of decreasing the level of participant's mitigation spending and increasing the probability that a participant will undertake mitigation. This unanticipated result identifies a conundrum that will need to be addressed in implementing policy.
Keywords/Search Tags:Policy, Social capital, Response
PDF Full Text Request
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