In this paper we demonstrate how satellite images and other geographic data can be used to predict land use. A cross-section model of land use is estimated with data for a region in central Mexico. Parameters from the model are used to examine the effects of reduced human activity. If variables that proxy human influence are changed to reflect reduced impact, “forest” area increases and “irrigated crop” area is reduced. Copyright 1997, Oxford University Press.

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The paper develops a theoretical foundation for using count data models in travel cost analysis. Two micro models are developed: a restricted choice model and a repeated discrete choice model. We show that both models lead to identical welfare measures.

In order to control for censoring and the integer nature of trip demand, the use of count data models in travel cost analysis is attractive. Two such models, the Poisson and negative binomial, are discussed. Robust estimation techniques that loosen potentially stringent distributional assumptions are also reviewed. For illustrative purposes, several count data models are used to estimate a county-level travel cost model using permit data from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

This report estimates the impact that high levels of enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) have had on economic trends in rural counties since the program's inception in 1985 until today. The results of a growth model and quasi-experimental control group analysis indicate no discernible impact by the CRP on aggregate county population trends. Aggregate employment growth may have slowed in some high-CRP counties, but only temporarily. High levels of CRP enrollment appear to have affected farm-related businesses over the long run, but growth in the number of other nonfarm businesses moderated CRP's impact on total employment. If CRP contracts had ended in 2001, simulation models suggest that roughly 51 percent of CRP land would have returned to crop production, and that spending on outdoor recreation would decrease by as much as $300 million per year in rural areas. The resulting impacts on employment and income vary widely among regions having similar CRP enrollments, depending upon local economic conditions.