Presumed Guilty: An Economics Analysis of the Efficiency of Environmental Bonds for the WA Mining Sector. Environmental bonds have two important economic effects. First they give an incentive for mining firms to manage environmental damage and second they prevent excessive costs falling on the regulator in the case of bankruptcy. The aim of this project is to assess if this policy can be redesigned to increase its economic efficiency.
Adaptive economic management of Australia's urban water. This project responds to the so-called 'wicked problem' of ensuring an adequate supply of water to urban consumers at the lowest price even during long-term droughts. The project will generate, for the first time in the world, an integrated, dynamic, and adaptive supply and demand model to manage urban water optimally over time.
Bioeconomic Modelling of Marine Reserves. Australian waters contain a huge range of biodiversity, but are under threat from human activities. To face this challenge and resolve the problems of depleted fisheries and habitat destruction, innovative approaches are required to integrate marine biology with fisheries economics. The research meets this immediate need by developing bioeconomic models of marine reserves to determine reserve location and size, and analyse interactions between reserves a ....Bioeconomic Modelling of Marine Reserves. Australian waters contain a huge range of biodiversity, but are under threat from human activities. To face this challenge and resolve the problems of depleted fisheries and habitat destruction, innovative approaches are required to integrate marine biology with fisheries economics. The research meets this immediate need by developing bioeconomic models of marine reserves to determine reserve location and size, and analyse interactions between reserves and harvested areas under environmental uncertainty. The models will be developed using the latest developments in economics, biology and numerical methods and will be used to conserve Australia's marine biodiversity and improve fisheries management.Read moreRead less
Transitioning to a water-secure future in the Basin. Increased water scarcity threatens the viability of the Murray-Darling Basin. There has been little analysis conducted of the consequences of water market impediments. The economic dimensions of trade impediments, water management, water market intervention and the net social benefits of water markets are at the core of this project. In particular, this project aims to explore: the impact of impediments and policy in water markets; how further ....Transitioning to a water-secure future in the Basin. Increased water scarcity threatens the viability of the Murray-Darling Basin. There has been little analysis conducted of the consequences of water market impediments. The economic dimensions of trade impediments, water management, water market intervention and the net social benefits of water markets are at the core of this project. In particular, this project aims to explore: the impact of impediments and policy in water markets; how further water market products may increase water market efficiency; and, the nature and sources of transactions costs in markets. Benefits from this project will enhance resilience and adaptation of irrigators to future climate change and water shortages, as well as providing future policy guidance.Read moreRead less
International Trade, Climate Change and Economic Policy. The research project addresses the role of, and interactions between, environmental and international trade policies within the context of a global economy with increasingly open economies whose production and consumption activities generate emissions of greenhouse gases that accumulate in the atmosphere and have potentially adverse effects on the world’s climate, which then impacts the environment, production and households. The objective ....International Trade, Climate Change and Economic Policy. The research project addresses the role of, and interactions between, environmental and international trade policies within the context of a global economy with increasingly open economies whose production and consumption activities generate emissions of greenhouse gases that accumulate in the atmosphere and have potentially adverse effects on the world’s climate, which then impacts the environment, production and households. The objective is to develop better understanding of the nexus between the international economy, climate change through the environment, and international trade and environmental policies. It will achieve this objective by analyses of multi-country models of international trade, climate change and policy design.Read moreRead less
Designing for uncertainty in conservation auctions. Economic theory and case study evidence show that tenders or auctions are more efficient than grant mechanisms for encouraging landholders to produce environmental outcomes on private land. These studies have ignored the effects of uncertainty of both bidders and administrators about factors such as landholder participation and the level of environmental benefits that will be delivered. This project will test whether distributing environmental ....Designing for uncertainty in conservation auctions. Economic theory and case study evidence show that tenders or auctions are more efficient than grant mechanisms for encouraging landholders to produce environmental outcomes on private land. These studies have ignored the effects of uncertainty of both bidders and administrators about factors such as landholder participation and the level of environmental benefits that will be delivered. This project will test whether distributing environmental funds via tenders is still efficient when uncertainty about various important factors is considered. Results from this research are expected to inform the cost effective design of systems to pay landholders for the provision of environmental benefits even when there is high uncertainty.Read moreRead less
Economics of Conserving Australian Tropical Wildlife: An Analysis of the Role of Economic Valuation, Property Rights and Commercialisation. Australian tropical native animals are selected to analyse economic valuation (use and non-use valuation) of wildlife species and to assess systematically the role of property rights and commercialisation in conservation. The project will (1) reduce bias of Australian economic studies in favour of temperate species; (2) answer several unresolved questions ra ....Economics of Conserving Australian Tropical Wildlife: An Analysis of the Role of Economic Valuation, Property Rights and Commercialisation. Australian tropical native animals are selected to analyse economic valuation (use and non-use valuation) of wildlife species and to assess systematically the role of property rights and commercialisation in conservation. The project will (1) reduce bias of Australian economic studies in favour of temperate species; (2) answer several unresolved questions raised in the Parlimentary Report on Commercial Utilisation of Australian Wildlife; (3) advance economic theory (e.g. relating to dynamic influences on economic valuation) and provide new insights into property rights making use of empirical and experimental results, and (4) thereby contribute to public policy decision-making.Read moreRead less
Storage and the Hotelling Valuation Principle: Understanding the Dynamics of the Oil Industry. Understanding the economics of the oil market is important for understanding the shift toward smaller, more fuel-efficient motor vehicles and less fuel-intensive farming techniques. A better understanding of fundamental oil price processes will lead to more accurate oil price forecasting and hence more accurate pricing of oil derivatives (options, futures and swaps) and improved risk management (e.g. ....Storage and the Hotelling Valuation Principle: Understanding the Dynamics of the Oil Industry. Understanding the economics of the oil market is important for understanding the shift toward smaller, more fuel-efficient motor vehicles and less fuel-intensive farming techniques. A better understanding of fundamental oil price processes will lead to more accurate oil price forecasting and hence more accurate pricing of oil derivatives (options, futures and swaps) and improved risk management (e.g. airlines hedging the cost of their jet fuel needs). Read moreRead less
Investigating Linkages Among Individual Decision Rules, Properties of Experimental Designs and Choice Models In Environmental Economics Applications. Discrete Choice Experiments or 'stated preference' (SP) surveys are increasingly being used to estimate public benefits of proposed environmental policy changes. The accuracy of environmental policy analyses and forecasts of welfare changes based on SP models depends heavily on unbiased parameter estimates. Our project aims to assess what happens i ....Investigating Linkages Among Individual Decision Rules, Properties of Experimental Designs and Choice Models In Environmental Economics Applications. Discrete Choice Experiments or 'stated preference' (SP) surveys are increasingly being used to estimate public benefits of proposed environmental policy changes. The accuracy of environmental policy analyses and forecasts of welfare changes based on SP models depends heavily on unbiased parameter estimates. Our project aims to assess what happens if common assumptions about consumer preferences in SP surveys are violated. We also study whether exploratory analysis methods can detect the violations to guide future research and applications. Successful completion of this project will lead to more accurate policy analyses and forecasts based on discrete choice models.Read moreRead less
Development of a Value of Life Framework to Assist Priority Setting Decision Making Across Sectors. The techniques used to evaluate life-saving interventions differ between health and other sectors. In health cost-effectiveness or cost-utility anlaysis is common, avoiding specification of a value for life. In contrast the transport and environment sectors use cost-benefit analysis and value life in monetary terms. This duality of approaches has resulted in a lower implicit value of life in th ....Development of a Value of Life Framework to Assist Priority Setting Decision Making Across Sectors. The techniques used to evaluate life-saving interventions differ between health and other sectors. In health cost-effectiveness or cost-utility anlaysis is common, avoiding specification of a value for life. In contrast the transport and environment sectors use cost-benefit analysis and value life in monetary terms. This duality of approaches has resulted in a lower implicit value of life in the health sector. The research will explore these differences and attempt to identify key attributes that influence how life is valued, to provide a framework for a single approach to the valuation of life, and the more efficient allocation of resources cross-sectorally.Read moreRead less