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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2006.02.001 Byline: Stephan Weiler Abstract: Site designation conveys a unique set of signals to information-constrained potential visitors. Changes in designation thus offer natural experiments to evaluate the signaling importance of names. This paper estimates the visitation effect of the conversion of National Monuments to National Parks. Such conversions generate persistent significant impacts, indicating that designation signals are indeed credible. These signals are particularly important to information-constrained distant national visitors compared to more proximate state and metro populations who have better information about nearby sites. Furthermore, park visits appear to be economical yet naturally rewarding inferior goods, as visitation increases when incomes stagnate. Author Affiliation: Center for the Study of Rural America, Federal Reserve Bank, 925 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64198 Article History: Received 24 August 2005; Revised 7 February 2006

In New Orleans a strong inverse association was previously identified between community soil lead and 4th grade school performance. This study extends the association to zinc, cadmium, nickel, manganese, copper, chromium, cobalt, and vanadium in community soil and their comparative effects on 4th grade school performance. Adjusting for poverty, food security, racial composition, and teacher-student ratios, regression results show that soil metals variously reduce and compress student scores. Soil metals account for 22%–24% while food insecurity accounts for 29%–37% of variation in school performance. The impact on grade point averages were Ni > Co > Mn > Cu ∼Cr ∼ Cd > Zn > Pb, but metals are mixtures in soils. The quantities of soil metal mixtures vary widely across the city with the largest totals in the inner city and smallest totals in the outer city. School grade point averages are lowest where the soil metal mixtures and food insecurity are highest. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Less competition increases repair cost disclosure to National Wildlife Strike Database (NWSD). • More profitable airlines are less likely to disclose repair costs to NWSD. • Findings could directly inform policies managing the economic burden of wildlife strikes. Since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last revisited its wildlife strike disclosure policy in 2009, the American domestic airline industry has undergone a significant increase in concentration. We analyze how the aforementioned shift in market structure has impacted the voluntary repair cost disclosure of US airlines following a damaging wildlife strike event. We also investigate the related relationship between profitability and disclosure using an instrumental variables strategy. Lastly, we examine the interaction between competition and profits. Our results show the probability of large American airlines disclosing direct repair costs after a wildlife strike event are linked to market competition and profitability. These findings could directly inform policies managing the economic burden of wildlife strikes, most importantly, the current voluntary disclosure policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Previous studies identified a curvilinear association between aggregated blood lead (BL) and soil lead (SL) data in New Orleans census tracts. In this study we investigate the relationships between SL (mg/kg), age of child, and BL (μg/dL) of 55,551 children in 280 census tracts in metropolitan New Orleans, 2000 to 2005. Analyses include random effects regression models predicting BL levels of children (μg/dL) and random effects logistic regression models predicting the odds of BL in children exceeding 15, 10, 7, 5, and 3μg/dL as a function of age and SL exposure. Economic benefits of SL reduction scenarios are estimated. A unit raise in median SL0.5 significantly increases the BL level in children (b =0.214 p =<0.01), and a unit change in Age0.5 significantly increases child BL (b =0.401, p =<0.01). A unit change in Age0.5 increases the odds of a child BL exceeding 10μg/dL by a multiplicative factor of 1.23 (95% CI 1.21 to 1.25), and a unit (mg/kg) addition of SL increases the odds of child BL>10μg/dL by a factor of 1.13 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.14). Extrapolating from regression results, we find that a shift in SL regulatory standard from 400 to 100mg/kg provides each child with an economic benefit ranging from $4710 to $12,624 ($US 2000). Children''s BL is a curvilinear function of both age and level of exposure to neighborhood SL. Therefore, a change in SL regulatory standard from 400 to 100mg/kg provides children with substantial economic benefit. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]