The economics of spatial-dynamic processes: Applications to renewable resources

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2008.08.001 Byline: Martin D. Smith (a), James N. Sanchirico (b), James E. Wilen (c) Keywords: Bioeconomics; Spatial-dynamics; Metapopulation; Spatial fishery; Location choice; Marine Protected Area (MPA) Abstract: Spatial-dynamic processes in renewable resource economics pose difficult conceptual, analytical, empirical, and institutional challenges that are distinct from either spatial or dynamic problems. We describe the challenges and conceptual approaches using both continuous and discrete depictions of space and summarize key findings. Using a metapopulation model of the fishery and simulated economic and ecological data, we show that it is possible in certain circumstances to recover both biological and economic parameters of a linked spatial-dynamic system from only economic data. We illustrate the application empirically with data from the Gulf of Mexico reef-fish fishery. We conclude with a discussion of key policy and institutional design issues involved in managing spatial-dynamic systems. Author Affiliation: (a) Nicholas School of the Environment and Department of Economics, Duke University, Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, USA (b) Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA and University Fellow, Resources for the Future (c) Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA Article History: Received 30 July 2007