Economics of Rural Land-Use Change

Public concern over land management has never been greater. This book provides a broad overview of the economics of rural land-use change, drawing attention to the meaningful role economic analysis can play in resolving public concern and supporting future, pro-active land management strategies in rural areas. The book's breadth distinguishes it from other recent texts, as it jointly offers rigorous treatments of theoretical and empirical models of rural land-use change and practical discussions of applications and relevant methods. Chapters are specifically designed to demonstrate the types of land-use questions economic analysis can answer, the types of methods that might be employed to answer these questions, and the types of public policy decisions that may be supported by such analysis. The book makes a significant contribution to contemporary land-use research, highlighting the key methodological and public policy issues that will be central to future research on the economics of rural land-use change. Contents: Introduction and Background: Objectives and perspectives, Kathleen P. Bell, Kevin J. Boyle, Andrew J. Plantinga, Jonathan Rubin and Mario F. Teisl; A discussion of recent land-use trends, Mary Clare Ahearn and Ralph J. Alig; Effects of policy and technological change on land use, Ralph J. Alig and Mary Clare Ahearn; Transportation and land-use change, Jonathan Rubin; Patterns and processes in the demographics of land-use change in the United States,