Barrett Kirwan
Senior Economist
Amazon.com
Working Papers
The Impact of the Conservation Reserve Program on Local Employment
(with L. Li and A. Ando)
Conservation programs in rural areas may entail a trade-off between environmental quality and local economic growth; thus, the net impact of conservation programs on local economic development is unclear.This paper focuses on the most extensive federal funded U.S. private land conservation program, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). We examine the impact of CRP enrollment on local employment for the entire U.S. to generate a nation-wide analysis of the effects of agricultural land retirement on the rural economy. We also explores the heterogeneity of the CRP’s impacts across four regions (Midwest, Northeast, South, and West) in the U.S. Results show that the negative impact on farm employment is offset by increased employment in other sectors; as a result, the total number of jobs in the whole economy increases with CRP enrollment. The empirical evidence generated from this study can help to address people’s concerns related to the unintended consequences of land conservation on rural economic development.
An Experimental Auction Approach
(with B. Ellison and A. Nepal)
We investigate consumers’ willingness to pay for novel bioplastic plant containers that are bio-based and biodegradable. To determine consumers’ willingness to pay, we conduct experimental auctions in a market environment in which people are likely to purchase plants in traditional plastic pots. We find consumers are willing to pay a premium of $0.67–$1.14 for a bioplastic plant container. Consumers exhibit higher willingness to pay for containers that biodegrade quickly in the ground and have a fertilizer effect. We find that older consumers and consumers who practice environmentally friendly behavior have a higher willingness to pay. These results suggest that consumers will pay a substantial premium.
(With S. Gao)
The coöccurrence of confounding events, such as natural disasters, obscures the effect U.S. food aid has on cereal-grain production in recipient countries. To clarify the relationship, this paper exploits variation in food aid due to U.S. domestic and foreign policy. Analysis of data from 118 countries over 45 years (1961–2006) reveals that doubling U.S. food aid reduces cereal-grain production by 1.5%. In terms of calories, food aid crowds out local cereal production one for one. The impact is particularly significant for sub-Saharan Africa, low-income countries, and regular recipients of U.S. food aid.
Work In Progress
The Effect of Ethanol-induced Corn Production on Nitrogen Fertilizer Use
The Impact of Disaster Payments and Multiple Peril Crop Insurance on
U.S. Farm Exit Rates
Connect
@
barrettkirwan 
bekirwan
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gmail.com
