Publications by Colleges and Departments (MSU - Bozeman)
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Item Agriculture in the Tongue River Basin, Output, Water Quality, and Implications(2013-05) Fitzgerald, Timothy; Zimmerman, GrantNatural resources have long been important to economic activity in Montana. From wildlife populations to mineral deposits, different residents have recognized the natural potential of the state and worked to create wealth from different resources. Agriculture has been and remains a important means of creating economic value from natural resources—gross revenues from agriculture are larger than any other sector in Montana, though it ranks lower in terms of contribution to gross domestic product.1 This study considers the value of a specific natural resource in Montana—water quality in the Tongue River in the southeastern part of the state. The study has three main sections: the first documents the agricultural production of the region; the second evaluates the importance of water quality to that production; and the third considers the distributional implications including contribution to public finances.Item Measuring the Effects of Natural Gas Pipeline Constraints on Regional Pricing and Market Integration(2016-11) Avalos, Roger; Fitzgerald, Timothy; Rucker, Randal R.Natural gas pipeline capacity sets physical limits on the quantity of gas that can be moved between regions, with attendant price effects. We find support for the hypothesis of integrated regional markets. Using data on daily pipeline flows and capacities in Florida and Southern California, we estimate reduced-form price effects of capacity constraints. We find that pipeline congestion increased realized citygate prices by at least 11 percent over the mean in Florida and by 6 percent over the mean in Southern California. We attribute the difference in price effects to more binding capacity constraints in the Florida pipeline network. Our estimates provide guidance for interstate pipeline investments.Item You Can't Drag Them Away: An Economic Analysis of the Wild Horse and Burro Program(2016-01) Elizondo, Vanessa; Fitzgerald, Timothy; Rucker, Randal R.Since 1971 wild horses and burros living on federal land have been legally protected, limiting removal from the range and stipulating restrictive conditions for transfer to private ownership. Periodic gathers prevent overpopulation, though we find both political and biological influences on the probability and size of gathers. Attempts to convey removed horses to private owners are often unsuccessful because of the relatively low quality of some animals and contractual restrictions. We consider alternative policy regimes promoting the transfer of additional animals; such reforms could have reduced program costs by as much as $452 million over the past twenty-five yearsItem U.S. Private and Natural Gas Royalties: Estimates and Policy Consideration(2014-03) Fitzgerald, Timothy; Rucker, Randal R.Item Estimates of U.S. Private Oil and Natural Gas Royalties(2014-02) Fitzgerald, Timothy; Rucker, Randal R.The United States is the only country in the world with widespread private ownership of minerals. This private ownership has helped make many citizens rich throughout the country’s history from strikes of precious metals and other minerals, as well as hydrocarbon resources. As the United States enjoys a Renaissance of oil production amidst the current high price environment, the ownership of oil and natural gas resources has reemerged as a critical economic force. Although private oil and gas ownership is acknowledged as an important contributor to innovation in development of unconventional resources and the technologies used to produce them (Yergin 2011), little is known about the aggregate value of private mineral interests. Usually private minerals are leased to developers in exchange for a royalty paid on the basis of gross production revenue as oil and natural gas are extracted. In this paper we estimate aggregate private oil and gas royalty incomes in recent years.