Progress 10/01/10 to 06/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Target Audience Environmental and Resource Economists, Health Economists, Federal, State, and local policy makers, conference participants, and the general public. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Opportunities Opportunities have included work with co-authors and colleagues who are more knowledgeable in particular areas than me. For example, in summer 2013, I traveled to Oregon and spent time working with my former advisor Trudy Cameron. I have also had the opportunity to work with Kevin Heaslip of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at USU and have gathered extensive knowledge regarding the connections between environmental economics and transportation economics. I have also had the opportunity to serve as a mentor to several graduate students, most notably Ryan Barnes, an exceptional Ph.D. student. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Dissemination The results of this project have been dissemination through peer-review journal articles through conference presentations and through informal contact with colleagues, students and professional economists. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Plan of Work This project is concluded.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Accomplishments Objective 1: Over the time period October 1, 2010 to June 30, 2015, accomplishments associated with objective 1 include and extensive analysis of heterogeneity in individual preferences for government programs that improve health and safety via improved environmental quality. This analysis includes an assessment of the major factors that influence individual preferences, including political attitudes and preferences, post-scenario calibration, as well as geography, ethnic and language fractionalization, and the magnitude of expected benefits. These accomplishments have led to peer reviewed publications in major journals, including the top field journals Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and Journal of Health Economics. Objective 2: After the completion of our final report for Washington State DOT grant project on the cost-effectiveness of CNG vehicles and expected impacts of CNG vehicles on greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle miles traveled, and fuel tax revenue, my co-authors (especially APEC Ph.D. student Ryan Barnes) and I have begun the process of disseminating our work to various outlets. These outlets include presentations at professional meetings and published journal articles. Ryan Barnes and I co-authored a paper published in Energy Economics on trade in liquefied natural gas. Another paper on the impacts of natural gas vehicles on fuel tax revenue has been published in Transportation Research Record. Two other papers are currently in the preparation for submission stage. Our team has also presented two papers at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meetings (one in 2014 and one in 2015). This research on natural gas vehicles is directly applicable to the planning decisions of state departments of transportation. This research, conducted in conjunction with Kevin Heaslip of the Civil Engineering Department at USU, finds that the proportion of the passenger vehicle fleet that is likely to adopt CNG vehicles is small even if technology improvements allow for very low conversion costs or manufacturer vehicle price differentials. However, we also find that even at current prices, a non-negligible proportion of the vehicle fleet is predicted to adopt CNG. CNG vehicles make sense for consumers who drive many miles and are willing to live with the inconveniences associated with CNG vehicles. Our research suggests that CNG is most likely to be cost effective for high mileage, low MPG vehicles like service truck, buses, and deliver vehicles. Moreover, these vehicles are also less likely to be negatively affected by the inconvenience of more frequent refueling. Objective 3: Completed research designed to help policy makers better understand the implications of using value-added models to estimate teacher quality effects. We show that commonly used statistical models of teacher quality may be biased because students are not randomly assigned to classrooms and show strong evidence student assignment to classrooms is likely based on characteristics which are normally unobserved. The results of this research show that value-added (and similar) statistical models should be used cautiously. If students are assigned to classes based on characteristics that are unobserved or difficult to control for, as suggested by this research, statistical inferences regarding teacher quality, class size effects, and other important educational metrics may be unreliable or misleading. This research can therefore help improve education outcomes at the school and district level. This objective has been completed and resulted in two peer-reviewed publications, one in the top field journal Education Economics. Objective 4: My research on private labels, national brands, and local designations has investigated how regional and state agencies can better understand how local designations such as "Utah's Own" can influence shopping habits. This research, conducted with DeeVon Bailey and Kynda Curtis, was funded by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, and directly addresses the degree to which local designations can influence retail food sales outcomes. The sensory analysis and stated preference survey results suggest that local food designations have real value in terms of willingness to pay by consumers for ice cream if products are of high quality. This project has produced two published manuscripts as well as various professional presentations.
Publications
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Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14
Outputs
Target Audience: Target Audience Environmental and Resource Economists, Health Economists, Federal, State, and local policy makers, conference participants, and the general public. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Opportunities Key opportunities for me this year have included work with Engineering faculty and graduate students as well as knowledgeable faculty members such as Kynda Curtis and DeeVon Bailey. I have also had the opportunity to serve as a mentor to several graduate students, most notably Ryan Barnes, an exceptional Ph.D. student. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Dissemination The results of this project have been dissemination through peer-review journal articles (listed above) through conference presentations (listed above) and through informal contact with colleagues, students and professional economists. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Plan of Work For 2015 I will continue with revisions and submission preparations for existing manuscripts, as well as continuing to develop new manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentation at professional meetings. Objective 1: No plan--this line of research is concluded. Objective 2: Continued preparation of manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed outlets and presentation at professional meetings. Objective 3: No plan--this line of research is concluded. Objective 3: Continued preparation of manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed outlets and presentations at professional meetings.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Accomplishments Major Activities Completed: Objective 1: Completed final revisions for manuscript that was revised and resubmitted to Journal of Health Economics, "Willingness to Pay for Public Health Policies to Treat Illness", co-authored with Trudy Ann Cameron (U. of Oregon) and J.R. DeShazo (UCLA). This manuscript was accepted for publication and is currently in forthcoming status at the journal. Our revised and extended analysis of preferences and willingness to pay for public health policies to treat illnesses shows that willingness to pay depends on community characteristics, especially racial fractionalization. Objective 2: After the completion of our final report for Washington State DOT grant project on the cost-effectiveness of CNG vehicles and expected impacts of CNG vehicles on greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle miles traveled, and fuel tax revenue, my co-authors (especially APEC Ph.D. student Ryan Barnes) and I have begun the process of disseminating our work to various outlets. These outlets include presentations at professional meetings and published journal articles. Ryan Barnes and I co-authored a paper that is forthcoming in Energy Economics on trade in liquefied natural gas. I have also received a request for revisions from Transportation Research Record on another submitted manuscript and two other papers are currently in the preparation for submission stage. Our team has also presented one paper at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting and another paper has been accepted for presentation in January 2015. This research on natural gas vehicles is directly applicable to the planning decisions of state departments of transportation. This research, conducted in conjunction with Kevin Heaslip of the Civil Engineering Department at USU, finds that the proportion of the passenger vehicle fleet that is likely to adopt CNG vehicles is small even if technology improvements allow for very low conversion costs or manufacturer vehicle price differentials. However, we also find that even at current prices, a non-negligible proportion of the vehicle fleet is predicted to adopt CNG. CNG vehicles make sense for consumers who drive many miles and are willing to live with the inconveniences associated with CNG vehicles. Our research suggests that CNG is most likely to be cost effective for high mileage, low MPG vehicles like service truck, buses, and deliver vehicles. Moreover, these vehicles are also less likely to be negatively affected by the inconvenience of more frequent refueling. Objective 3: No further accomplishments--this line of research has been concluded. Objective 4: My research on private labels, national brands, and local designations has investigated how regional and state agencies can better understand how local designations such as "Utah's Own" can influence shopping habits. This research, conducted with DeeVon Bailey and Kynda Curtis, as well as APEC Ph.D. student Ryan Barnes, was funded by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, and directly addresses the degree to which local designations can influence retail food sales outcomes. The sensory analysis and stated preference survey results suggest that local food designations have real value in terms of willingness to pay by consumers for ice cream if products are of high quality. This project has so far produced two published manuscripts and at least five presentations at professional meetings.
Publications
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Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Opportunities have included worth with co-authors and colleagues who are more knowledgeable in particular areas than me. For example, in summer 2013, I traveled to Oregon and spent time working with my former advisor Trudy Cameron. I have also had the opportunity to work with Kevin Heaslip of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at USU and have gathered extensive knowledge regarding the connections between environmental economics and transportation economics. I have also had the opportunity to serve as a mentor to several graduate students, most notably Ryan Barnes, an exceptional Ph.D. student. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results of this project have been dissemination through peer-review journal articles (listed above) through conference presentations (listed above) and through informal contact with colleagues, students and professional economists. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? For 2014, I will continue with revisions and submission preparations for existing manuscripts. Objective 1: Revision of existing manuscripts as the peer-review process continues. Objective 2: Preparation of manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed outlets. Revision of report in response to comments from funding agency. Objective 3: No plan--this line of research is concluded. Objective 3: Preparation of manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed outlets. Revision of report in response to comments from funding agency.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Revised and extended analysis of preferences and willingness to pay for public health policies to treat illnesses. Analysis extended to show that willingness to pay depends on community characteristics, especially racial fractionalization. These revisions were included in our manuscript that was revised and resubmitted to Journal of Health Economics, "Willingness to Pay for Public Health Policies to Treat Illness", co-authored with Trudy Ann Cameron (U. of Oregon) and J.R. DeShazo (UCLA). Impacts from this year's work are limited as this work is not yet published. Objective 2: Completed final report for Washington State DOT grant project on the cost-effectiveness of CNG vehicles and expected impacts of CNG vehicles on greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle miles traveled, and fuel tax revenue. The project also predicts CNG adoption rates under various price conditions. One manuscript from the project is under review at Transportation Research Part A, and other manuscripts are under preparation for submission to peer-reviewed journals. Work from this project has been presented to the Rocky Mountain Petroleum Accountants Society and to the Washington State Department of Transportation. This research on natural gas vehicles is directly applicable to the planning decisions of state departments of transportation. This research, conducted in conjunction with Kevin Heaslip of the Civil Engineering Department at USU, finds that the proportion of the passenger vehicle fleet that is likely to adopt CNG vehicles is small even if technology improvements allow for very low conversion costs or manufacturer vehicle price differentials. However, we also find that even at current prices, a non-negligible proportion of the vehicle fleet is predicted to adopt CNG. CNG vehicles make sense for consumers who drive many miles and are willing to live with the inconveniences associated with CNG vehicles. Our research suggests that CNG is most likely to be cost effective for high mileage, low MPG vehicles like service truck, buses, and deliver vehicles. Moreover, these vehicles are also less likely to be negatively affected by the inconvenience of more frequent refueling. Objective 3: Completed research designed to help policy makers better understand the implications of using value-added models to estimate teacher quality effects. We show that commonly used statistical models of teacher quality may be biased because students are not randomly assigned to classrooms and show strong evidence student assignment to classrooms is likely based on characteristics which are normally unobserved. The results of this research show that value-added (and similar) statistical models should be used cautiously. If students are assigned to classes based on characteristics that are unobserved or difficult to control for, as suggested by this research, statistical inferences regarding teacher quality, class size effects, and other important educational metrics may be unreliable or misleading. This research can therefore help improve education outcomes at the school and district level. This objective has been completed and resulted in two peer-reviewed publications in 2013. Objective 4: My research on private labels, national brands, and local designations has investigated how regional and state agencies can better understand how local designations such as "Utah's Own" can influence shopping habits. This research, conducted with DeeVon Bailey and Kynda Curtis, was funded by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, and directly addresses the degree to which local designations can influence retail food sales outcomes. The sensory analysis and stated preference survey results suggest that local food designations have real value in terms of willingness to pay by consumers for ice cream if products are of high quality. This project has so far produced one published manuscript and another manuscript under review. This research has also been presented at the Western Agricultural Economics Association 2013 Annual Meetings.
Publications
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Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: "Manuscripts accepted, under review, or under revision: Manuscript accepted for publication in BE Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, ""Hypothetical Bias in Choice Experiments: Is Cheap Talk Effective at Eliminating Bias on the Intensive and Extensive Margins of Choice"", co-authored with Laura Taylor (North Carolina State University) Manuscript accepted for publication in International Journal of Quantitative Research in Education: ""What Sort of School Sorts Students"", sole author Manuscript revised and resubmitted to Education Policy Analysis Archives, ""Patterns in Student Assignment to Elementary School Classrooms"", co-authored with Hao Li (former M.S. student) Manuscript submitted to Journal of Health Economics, "" How Health Investments are Affected by Changes in Time Preferences Across the Life Cycle: Understanding Health Behaviors with Age-Varying Discount Rates "", co-authored with Trudy Ann Cameron (U. of Oregon) and J.R. DeShazo (UCLA) Manuscript revised and resubmitted to Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, ""Willingness to Pay for Private Labels, National Brands, and Local Designations at the Retail Level"", co-authored with DeeVon Bailey (USU) and Kynda Curtis (USU) Other manuscripts preparing for initial submission: ""Resident Perceptions and Willingness to Pay for Illegal Dumping Mitigation on Public Lands"", UAES Working Paper #8468, co-authored with Kynda Curtis and M. Cowee. ""The Natural Gas Industry and the Future of CNG Vehicles"" with Kevin Heaslip ""The Cost-Effectiveness of CNG Vehicles"" with Kevin Heaslip and Ryan Barnes Other Outputs Grant Received: The MPG Illusion, Preferences for Fuel Economy, and Vehicle Choice", UAES Grant, May 2012, ($16,014), PI Ongoing grant project for Washington State Department of Transportation: Tasks 1 and 2 reports submitted to funding agency Paper presented: "Cheap Talk and Preference Elicitation for Divisible Public Goods" Western Agricultural Economics Association 2012 Annual Meetings, Park City UT, June 20-22. Paper presented: "What Sort of School Sorts Students" Western Economic Association International 87th Annual Conference, Paper Presentation, San Francisco CA, June 29-July 3. Paper presented: "Measuring the Values of Plastic and Reusable Grocery Bags" ENVS Department Seminar, Utah State University, April 2, 2012" PARTICIPANTS: "Ryan Bosworth (USU) DeeVon Bailey (USU) Kynda Curtis (USU) Ryan Barnes (USU APEC Ph.D. student) Kevin Heaslip (USU) Trudy Cameron (U. of Oregon) J.R. DeShazo (UCLA) Laura Taylor (NC State University) Hao Li (former APEC M.S. student)" TARGET AUDIENCES: Environmental and Resource Economists, Health Economists, Federal, State, and local policy makers, Washington State Department of Transportation, conference participants, and the general public. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
" My research with Laura Taylor investigates the effects of hypothetical bias in choice experiments. We show that even though using cheap talk scripts can provide willingness to pay estimates that are similar to real treatments, they may do so by inducing behavior that is distinctly different from consumers facing real choices. We show that when cheap talk is used respondents are more price sensitive but more inclined to make a purchase. In other words, they "overreact" to prices, but "underreact" in terms of making any purchase. We show that these effects may result in incorrect estimates of willingness to pay for environmental goods. My education economics research is designed to help policy makers better understand the implications of using value-added models to estimate teacher quality effects. I show that commonly used statistical models of teacher quality may be biased because students are not randomly assigned to classrooms. I show strong evidence student assignment to classrooms is likely based on characteristics which are normally unobserved. The results of this research show that value-added (and similar) statistical models should be used cautiously. If students are assigned to classes based on characteristics that are unobserved or difficult to control for, as suggested by this research, statistical inferences regarding teacher quality, class size effects, and other important educational metrics may be unreliable or misleading. This research can therefore help improve education outcomess at the school and district level. My research on private labels, national brands, and local designations can help regional and state agencies better understand how local designations such as ""Utah's Own"" can influence shopping habits. This research, conducted with DeeVon Bailey and Kynda Curtis, was funded by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, and directly addresses the degree to which local designations can influence retail food sales outcomes. The sensory analysis and stated preference survey results suggest that local food designations have real value in terms of willingness to pay by consumers for ice cream if products are of high quality. My research on natural gas vehicles is directly applicable to the planning decisions of state departments of transportation. This research, conducted in conjunction with Kevin Heaslip of the Civil Engineering Department at USU, finds that the proportion of the passenger vehicle fleet that is likely to adopt CNG vehicles is small even if technology improvements allow for very low conversion costs or manufacturer vehicle price differentials. However, we also find that even at current prices, a non-negligible proportion of the vehicle fleet is predicted to adopt CNG. CNG vehicles make sense for consumers who drive many miles and are willing to live with the inconveniences associated with CNG vehicles. Our research suggests that CNG is most likely to be cost effective for high mileage, low MPG vehicles like service truck, buses, and deliver vehicles. Moreover, these vehicles are also less likely to be negatively affected by the inconvenience of more frequent refueling."
Publications
- Bosworth, R. C., Cameron, T. A., DeShazo, J.R. (2012) Willingness to Pay for Public Health Policies to Treat Illness. Journal of Health Economics. (Revising to Resubmit).
- Bosworth, R. C., Cameron, T. A., DeShazo, J.R. (2012) Age, Health, and Rates of Time Preference.. (In Preparation; Not Yet Submitted).
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Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Statistical analysis of heterogeneity in preferences for government policy with respect to health status. Analysis ongoing. PARTICIPANTS: Collaborators: Trudy Ann Cameron, University of Oregon; J.R. DeShazo, UCLA TARGET AUDIENCES: Environmental and Resource Economists, Health Economists, Federal, State, and local policy makers, conference participants, and the general public. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Presented paper "Health Status and Preferences for Government Provision of Health Care Resources" at Western Economic Association-International annual meetings in San Diego June-July 2011. Key results include demonstrated variation in preferences for government health care programs with respect to health status. (note: This paper has since been re-titled and reworked.) Impacts include improved understanding of the relationship between health status and preferences for researchers and policy makers.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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