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AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DELIVER A WIDE VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS FOR SOCIETY THROUGH CHANGES IN AGRICULTURAL LAND USES. SINCE A LARGE PROPORTION OF THE AGRICULTURAL LANDS IN THE US IS PRIVATELY OWNED, A CHANGE IN LAND USE MIGHT SOMETIMES COME AT THE EXPENSE OF PROFITS FROM AGRICULTURE. THUS, REGULATORY AGENCIES SUCH AS THE USDA HAVE IMPLEMENTED POLICIES THAT COMPENSATE LANDOWNERS FOR LOST AGRICULTURAL PROFITS AS WELL AS REWARD THEM FOR BEING GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDS. EXAMPLES OF SUCH POLICIES INCLUDE THE CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM (CRP), THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM ETC. A CHALLENGE WITH THESE POLICIES HOWEVER IS THAT FUNDS DISBURSAL IS SUBJECT TO A BUDGET CONSTRAINT AND OFTEN TIMES LANDOWNERS END UP BEING COMPENSATED AT RATES MUCH HIGHER THAN WHAT THEY WOULD WILLINGLY ACCEPT TO IMPLEMENT THE LAND USES. THUS, THE USDA HAS IMPLEMENTED REVERSE AUCTIONS (SUCH AS IN THE CRP) TO COMBAT THIS ISSUE. HOWEVER, OVER TIME, THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE AUCTIONS IS FOUND TO BE FALLING - GIVEN THE FUNDS, LAND USE PROJECTS YIELDING THE SAME AMOUNTS OF CONSERVATION BENEFITS BECOMES COSTLIER TO PROCURE. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM - GIVEN ANY FUTURE UNCERTAINTY ABOUT CONSERVATION BUDGETS FROM WHICH PAYMENTS ARE TO BE MADE AND THE GENERAL IMPORTANCE ASSOCIATED WITH ECOSYSTEM SERVICES DELIVERY FROM AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES. SINCE THESE PAYMENTS ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM OF THE US, SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION IS IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY AUCTION DESIGN FEATURES WHICH CONTRIBUTE POSITIVELY TO COST-EFFECTIVENESS, WHILE GENERATING ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS FOR AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES AND SOCIETY AT LARGE.THIS PROJECT WILL USE ECONOMIC EXPERIMENTS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CONSERVATION AUCTION POLICIES UNDER MULTIPLE CONDITIONS. ECONOMIC EXPERIMENTS INVOLVE REAL PEOPLE MAKING MULTIPLE CHOICES ON THE BASIS OF WHICH THEY GET PAID. AN ANALYSIS OF THE CHOICES THEN YIELDS INSIGHTS ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR UNDER MULTIPLE CHANGING CONDITIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF LAND USE ACTIONS, AUCTION FORMAT (AND THERE CAN BE MANY), SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY LEVEL TIES AND INDIVIDUALS' TENDENCIES TO SEEK PEER APPROVAL, ON PARTICIPATION AND BIDDING BEHAVIOR. THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH BOTH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND PRIVATE LANDOWNERS AND WILL PROVIDE VALUABLE INSIGHTS ABOUT POLICY DESIGN AND ECONOMIC DECISION MAKING BY REAL PEOPLE. THE ECONOMIC EXPERIMENTS WILL ALSO SERVE AS A MEANS TO ENGAGE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS IN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROVIDING THEM WITH A KEENER APPRECIATION FOR HUMAN DECISION MAKING IN CONTEXTS RELEVANT TO THEIR OWN LIVES.

$-2,228FY2023National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA

Board Of Regents Of The University Of Nebraska

Investigators

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AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DELIVER A WIDE VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS FOR SOCIETY THROUGH CHANGES IN AGRICULTURAL LAND USES. SINCE A LARGE PROPORTION OF THE AGRICULTURAL LANDS IN THE US IS PRIVATELY OWNED, A CHANGE IN LAND USE MIGHT SOMETIMES COME AT THE EXPENSE OF PROFITS FROM AGRICULTURE. THUS, REGULATORY AGENCIES SUCH AS THE USDA HAVE IMPLEMENTED POLICIES THAT COMPENSATE LANDOWNERS FOR LOST AGRICULTURAL PROFITS AS WELL AS REWARD THEM FOR BEING GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDS. EXAMPLES OF SUCH POLICIES INCLUDE THE CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM (CRP), THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM ETC. A CHALLENGE WITH THESE POLICIES HOWEVER IS THAT FUNDS DISBURSAL IS SUBJECT TO A BUDGET CONSTRAINT AND OFTEN TIMES LANDOWNERS END UP BEING COMPENSATED AT RATES MUCH HIGHER THAN WHAT THEY WOULD WILLINGLY ACCEPT TO IMPLEMENT THE LAND USES. THUS, THE USDA HAS IMPLEMENTED REVERSE AUCTIONS (SUCH AS IN THE CRP) TO COMBAT THIS ISSUE. HOWEVER, OVER TIME, THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE AUCTIONS IS FOUND TO BE FALLING - GIVEN THE FUNDS, LAND USE PROJECTS YIELDING THE SAME AMOUNTS OF CONSERVATION BENEFITS BECOMES COSTLIER TO PROCURE. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM - GIVEN ANY FUTURE UNCERTAINTY ABOUT CONSERVATION BUDGETS FROM WHICH PAYMENTS ARE TO BE MADE AND THE GENERAL IMPORTANCE ASSOCIATED WITH ECOSYSTEM SERVICES DELIVERY FROM AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES. SINCE THESE PAYMENTS ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM OF THE US, SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION IS IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY AUCTION DESIGN FEATURES WHICH CONTRIBUTE POSITIVELY TO COST-EFFECTIVENESS, WHILE GENERATING ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS FOR AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES AND SOCIETY AT LARGE.THIS PROJECT WILL USE ECONOMIC EXPERIMENTS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CONSERVATION AUCTION POLICIES UNDER MULTIPLE CONDITIONS. ECONOMIC EXPERIMENTS INVOLVE REAL PEOPLE MAKING MULTIPLE CHOICES ON THE BASIS OF WHICH THEY GET PAID. AN ANALYSIS OF THE CHOICES THEN YIELDS INSIGHTS ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR UNDER MULTIPLE CHANGING CONDITIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF LAND USE ACTIONS, AUCTION FORMAT (AND THERE CAN BE MANY), SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY LEVEL TIES AND INDIVIDUALS' TENDENCIES TO SEEK PEER APPROVAL, ON PARTICIPATION AND BIDDING BEHAVIOR. THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH BOTH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND PRIVATE LANDOWNERS AND WILL PROVIDE VALUABLE INSIGHTS ABOUT POLICY DESIGN AND ECONOMIC DECISION MAKING BY REAL PEOPLE. THE ECONOMIC EXPERIMENTS WILL ALSO SERVE AS A MEANS TO ENGAGE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS IN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROVIDING THEM WITH A KEENER APPRECIATION FOR HUMAN DECISION MAKING IN CONTEXTS RELEVANT TO THEIR OWN LIVES. · GrantIndex