NatuRE Policy Lab

Xiurou Wu presented her work modeling how fishers choose to allocate fishing effort across space. Understanding how these decisions are made is useful for fisheries management because it can help policymakers assess the potential heterogenous biological and economic impacts of spatial management strategies like marine protected areas.

This week Jesse Gourevitch presented his work estimating the unpriced flood risk in the US housing market. He and his collaborators combined climate models that predict changes in flood risk with housing market data to identify the extent to which information about flooding is incorporated into market prices. Using these data they estimate that residential properties in the United States exposed to flood risk are overvalued by $121-237 billion dollars.

Kelly Wu presented her work estimating the causal impact of the Primary Forest and Peat Moratorium in Indonesia on health outcomes. The moratorium limits the number of permit issues to clear forests, and peat lands, which Kelly hypothesizes will improve health outcomes by reducing land-clearing fires and harmful exposure to smoke.

Joseph Raymond presented some preliminary findings from his work on risk management in Alaska catch share fisheries. He discussed the role of portfolio theory for managing the risks firms face associated with variable market and environmental conditions. He also discussed the data driven approach he is taking to understand the ability of participants in Alaska fisheries to reduce risks through portfolio management.

Emily McGlynn shared her research on land use and conservation. Local governments are increasingly interested in managing GHG emissions through land use policy and agricultural conservation incentives. Emily is working with Santa Clara County (home to Silicon Valley) to evaluate how modifying conservation programs can reduce agricultural land conversion and avoid GHG emissions due to urban sprawl.