scholarly journals Bundling of Ecosystem Services in Conservation Offsets: Risks and How They Can Be Avoided

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 628
Author(s):  
Martin Drechsler
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Simple Model ◽  
Model Analysis ◽  
Systematic Variation ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Trading Rule ◽  
Private Lands ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Market Rule ◽  
The Cost

Conservation offsets are increasingly used as an instrument to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services on private lands. Bundling ecosystem services (ES) in the market transactions saves costs but implies that only the bundle of ES is conserved while individual ES may decline. This paper presents a simple model analysis of a conservation offset scheme to identify conditions under which bundling can lead to such undesired declines. As it turns out, these are favoured by rarity of the ES as well as a positive correlation between their abundance and the cost of their conservation. A market rule is proposed that is able to avert undesired ES declines. Rather than on sums or means of ES, this market rule focuses on the least abundant ES. Systematic variation of model parameters shows that this trading rule is most effective in those cases where the likelihood of undesired ES losses is highest.

scholarly journals Accommodating Taste and Scale Heterogeneity for Front-Seat Passenger’ Choice of Seat Belt Usage

Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahdi Rezapour ◽  
Khaled Ksaibati
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Model ◽  
Seat Belt ◽  
Model Fit ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Extended Model ◽  
Random Parameters ◽  
Front Seat ◽  
Scale Heterogeneity ◽  
Error Terms ◽  
The Cost

There is growing interest in implementation of the mixed model to account for heterogeneity across population observations. However, it has been argued that the assumption of independent and identically distributed (i.i.d) error terms might not be realistic, and for some observations the scale of the error is greater than others. Consequently, that might result in the error terms’ scale to be varied across those observations. As the standard mixed model could not account for the aforementioned attribute of the observations, extended model, allowing for scale heterogeneity, has been proposed to relax the equal error terms across observations. Thus, in this study we extended the mixed model to the model with heterogeneity in scale, or generalized multinomial logit model (GMNL), to see if accounting for the scale heterogeneity, by adding more flexibility to the distribution, would result in an improvement in the model fit. The study used the choice data related to wearing seat belt across front-seat passengers in Wyoming, with all attributes being individual-specific. The results highlighted that although the effect of the scale parameter was significant, the scale effect was trivial, and accounting for the effect at the cost of added parameters would result in a loss of model fit compared with the standard mixed model. Besides considering the standard mixed and the GMNL, the models with correlated random parameters were considered. The results highlighted that despite having significant correlation across the majority of the random parameters, the goodness of fits favors more parsimonious models with no correlation. The results of this study are specific to the dataset used in this study, and due to the possible fact that the heterogeneity in observations related to the front-seat passengers seat belt use might not be extreme, and do not require extra layer to account for the scale heterogeneity, or accounting for the scale heterogeneity at the cost of added parameters might not be required. Extensive discussion has been made in the content of this paper about the model parameters’ estimations and the mathematical formulation of the methods.

Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of universal hepatitis B virus vaccination in Iran: a Markov model analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Ali Mohammad Mokhtari ◽  
Mohsen Barouni ◽  
Mohsen Moghadami ◽  
Jafar Hassanzadeh ◽  
Rebecca Susan Dewey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Hepatitis B Virus ◽  
Hepatitis B ◽  
Markov Model ◽  
Model Analysis ◽  
Virus Vaccination ◽  
B Virus ◽  
The Cost

scholarly journals Cost-effectiveness of TAS-102 plus bevacizumab versus TAS-102 monotherapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyoaki Sugiura ◽  
Yuki Seo ◽  
Takayuki Takahashi ◽  
Hideyuki Tokura ◽  
Yasuhiro Ito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Combination Therapy ◽  
Metastatic Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Combination Regimen ◽  
The Cost

Abstract Background TAS-102 plus bevacizumab is an anticipated combination regimen for patients who have metastatic colorectal cancer. However, evidence supporting its use for this indication is limited. We compared the cost-effectiveness of TAS-102 plus bevacizumab combination therapy with TAS-102 monotherapy for patients with chemorefractory metastatic colorectal cancer. Method Markov decision modeling using treatment costs, disease-free survival, and overall survival was performed to examine the cost-effectiveness of TAS-102 plus bevacizumab combination therapy and TAS-102 monotherapy. The Japanese health care payer’s perspective was adopted. The outcomes were modeled on the basis of published literature. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) between the two treatment regimens was the primary outcome. Sensitivity analysis was performed and the effect of uncertainty on the model parameters were investigated. Results TAS-102 plus bevacizumab had an ICER of $21,534 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained compared with TAS-102 monotherapy. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that TAS-102 monotherapy was more cost-effective than TAS-102 and bevacizumab combination therapy at a willingness-to-pay of under $50,000 per QALY gained. Conclusions TAS-102 and bevacizumab combination therapy is a cost-effective option for patients who have metastatic colorectal cancer in the Japanese health care system.

The cost–benefit evaluation based on ecosystem services under different ecological restoration scenarios

2021 ◽  
Vol 193 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingqi Li ◽  
Shiliang Liu ◽  
Yixuan Liu ◽  
Yongxiu Sun ◽  
Fangfang Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecological Restoration ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Benefit Evaluation ◽  
The Cost

scholarly journals Protocol for the health economic evaluation of increasing the weekend specialist to patient ratio in hospitals in England

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e015561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel I Watson ◽  
Yen-Fu Chen ◽  
Julian F Bion ◽  
Cassie P Aldridge ◽  
Alan Girling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Economic Evaluation ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Expert Elicitation ◽  
Weekend Effect ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Risk Of Death ◽  
Causal Processes ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Cost

IntroductionThis protocol concerns the evaluation of increased specialist staffing at weekends in hospitals in England. Seven-day health services are a key policy for the UK government and other health systems trying to improve use of infrastructure and resources. A particular motivation for the 7-day policy has been the observed increase in the risk of death associated with weekend admission, which has been attributed to fewer hospital specialists being available at weekends. However, the causes of the weekend effect have not been adequately characterised; many of the excess deaths associated with the ‘weekend effect’ may not be preventable, and the presumed benefits of improved specialist cover might be offset by the cost of implementation.Methods/designThe Bayesian-founded method we propose will consist of four major steps. First, the development of a qualitative causal model. Specialist presence can affect multiple, interacting causal processes. One or more models will be developed from the results of an expert elicitation workshop and probabilities elicited for each model and relevant model parameters. Second, systematic review of the literature. The model from the first step will provide search limits for a review to identify relevant studies. Third, a statistical model for the effects of specialist presence on care quality and patient outcomes. Fourth, valuation of outcomes. The expected net benefits of different levels of specialist intensity will then be evaluated with respect to the posterior distributions of the parameters.Ethics and disseminationThe study was approved by the Review Subcommittee of the South West Wales REC on 11 November 2013. Informed consent was not required for accessing anonymised patient case records from which patient identifiers had been removed. The findings of this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals; the outputs from this research will also form part of the project report to the HS&DR Programme Board.

scholarly journals ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF CHANGES IN HYDROLOGICAL REGULATION ECOSYSTEM SERVICE FROM THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF UNAUTHORIZED MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olena Kobzar
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Municipal Solid Waste ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Municipal Solid Waste Landfills ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Solid Waste Landfills

The problem of the formation of unauthorized municipal solid waste landfills is very urgent in the world. Municipal solid waste landfills affect the state of ecosystem assets of territorial communities and, accordingly, the flow of ecosystem services. The economic assessment of qualitative and quantitative changes of ecosystem services as a result of the negative impact of unauthorized landfills is a basic element of an effective policy in the field of municipal solid waste management. One of the ecosystem services, the assessment of which is given a lot of attention in the scientific literature is the hydrological regulation ecosystem service. The aim of the research is the economic assessment of changes in hydrological regulation ecosystem service from the negative impact of unauthorized municipal solid waste landfills. In the scientific literature, the economic assessment of hydrological regulation ecosystem service is considered as a function of the increase in the river or underground runoff and the cost of water. It is proposed to calculate the economic assessment of changes in hydrological regulation ecosystem service from the negative impact of unauthorized municipal solid waste landfills as a function of: the magnitude of the change in groundwater flow in the summer from the negative impact of unauthorized municipal solid waste landfill; tax rates for water abstraction from an underground source; landfill area; the coefficient of changes in the structure of the ecosystem within the landfill (destruction of vegetation cover); the area of impact of the landfill (outside the landfill) on the ecosystem; coefficient of change in the area of impact of the landfill. Changes in the hydrological regulation ecosystem service from the negative impact of unauthorized municipal solid waste landfills on the territory of the Korostyshevskaya territorial community of the Zhytomyr region have calculated. The main problems of assessing changes in hydrological regulation ecosystem service from the negative impact of unauthorized municipal solid waste landfills are identified: obtaining reliable and complete factual information about changes in underground runoff and the characteristics of the ecosystem from the negative impact of unauthorized municipal solid waste landfills within the landfill and the zone of its influence. Due to the insignificant value of the cost of changing the hydrological regulation ecosystem service, it was concluded that it is inexpedient to take it into account when making managerial decisions about small and low-power unauthorized municipal solid waste landfills.

scholarly journals Rethinking rehabilitation of salt-affected land: new perspectives from Australian experience

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Leake ◽  
Victor Squires ◽  
S Shabala
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Concerted Effort ◽  
Plant Soil ◽  
Mechanistic Basis ◽  
Australian Experience ◽  
Evolution Of Ideas ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Agricultural Production Systems

Soil salinity is emerging as a major threat to the sustainability of modern agricultural production systems and, historically, land and water degradation due to salinity has defeated civilisations whenever the cost of remediation exceeded the benefits. This work discusses the complexity inherent in working with salinity, and the opportunities where salt damaged land and water is viewed as a resource. It takes a wider look at land and waterscapes, seeing them as systems that link damage and repair across time and space to bridge the divide between the main beneficiaries of ecosystem services and the main actors, farmers, and land managers. We first discuss the mechanistic basis of crop reduction by salinity and evolution of ideas about how to shape the plant-soil-water nexus. We then discuss the needs of farmers and other land users required for adequate planning and land management within the constraints of existing policy. Lastly, an approach that provides a new technical and economic tool for the remediation of land in several land use categories is presented. We conclude that a more concerted effort is required to turn payments for ecosystem services into a true market, accepted as such by the land managers, whose agency is essential so the ‘knowledge of what can be done can be transformed into benefits’. Achieving this will require a transformation in the paradigm of how natural resources are managed.

Use of a stochastic model of a calving distribution for beef cows for formulating optimal natural mating strategies

1997 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Pleasants
Keyword(s):  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Beef Cows ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Conception Rate ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Gestation Length ◽  
Mating Period ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
The Cost

AbstractA model of a birthdate distribution for a herd of beef cows is constructed using the probability distributions of the variables that affect reproduction in the cow — anoestrous interval, oestrous cycle length, conception to each oestrus, gestation length, period of mating and the prior calving frequency distribution. The model is general and can be reparamaterized to deal with issues such as intervention to synchronize oestrous cycles among cows in the herd by changing the form of the relevant probability distributions.The model is applied to the question of what time to begin mating in a herd of beef cows. The average calf live weight at day 200, herd conception rate and proportion of cows calving before the planned start of calving were calculated from the model output. The model parameters given by the anoestrous period, conception rate to each oestrus and the regression between prior calving date and anoestrous period, were varied in a factorial design to investigate a range of circumstances found on a farm. Prior calving distributions were generated by random sampling from eight actual calving frequency distributions.Generally starling mating earlier produced an advantage in terms of extra calf live weight and herd conception rate. However, the proportion of the herd calving earlier than expected increased with early mating. Thus, the feasibility of early mating depends on the cost to the farmer of dealing with early calving cows as well as the advantage of heavier older calves.Altering the fixed parameters in the model (variances and covariances, prior calving distributions, mating period) to accommodate the circumstances of herds run under different conditions may produce different results. Model structure allows easy alteration of these parameters and also the introduction of different probability distributions for some variables. This might be necessary to model oestrous synchronization and artificial insemination, issues not considered in this paper.

Land for Food & Land for Nature?

Daedalus ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Balmford ◽  
Rhys Green ◽  
Ben Phalan
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Wild Species ◽  
Unit Area ◽  
Environmental Externalities ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Land Sparing ◽  
Yield Production ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Coupling Yield

Opinions on how to limit the immense impact of agriculture on wild species are divided. Some think it best to retain as much wildlife as possible on farms, even at the cost of lowering yield (production per unit area). Others advocate the opposite: increasing yield so as to limit the area needed for farming, and then retaining larger areas under natural habitats. Still others support a mixture of the two extremes, or an intermediate approach. Here we summarize a model designed to resolve this disagreement, and review the empirical evidence available to date. We conclude that this evidence largely supports the second, so-called land-sparing approach to reconciling agriculture and biodiversity conservation, but that important questions remain over the generality of these findings for different biota and for ecosystem services, how best to increase yields while limiting environmental externalities, and whether there are effective, socially just, and practical mechanisms for coupling yield growth to habitat retention and restoration.

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