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Spatial evaluation of alternative nonpoint nutrient regulatory instruments
Author(s) -
Whittaker Gerald,
Färe Rolf,
Srinivasan Raghavan,
Scott David W.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2001wr001119
Subject(s) - nonpoint source pollution , incentive , work (physics) , environmental economics , natural resource economics , business , public economics , agriculture , economics , environmental science , agricultural economics , geography , engineering , microeconomics , mechanical engineering , archaeology
Recent work has shown that because of differences in the physical environment across an area the choice of an instrument for regulation of nonpoint source agricultural pollution is an empirical question. The objective of this study is an empirical comparison of an economic incentive policy (an input tax) for reduction of agricultural fertilizer application with a command and control policy. Although a “first‐best” policy would be administered at the farm level, transactions costs practically require a single policy for the whole area. In an application to the Columbia plateau, a 300% input tax is shown to be preferred to a mandated 25% reduction in nitrogen fertilizer on financial and policy efficiency grounds.