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Item The value of fresh water as an economic input: evidence from Florida oyster fisheries(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Dahl, Caleb Eliot; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Richard ReadyNatural resources contribute to a number of processes that humans depend on for economic benefits. A notable example is fisheries. Fishery productivity is largely dictated by environmental factors. When an ecosystem is altered, the effect on its fisheries can be catastrophic. As development intensifies throughout the world, an increasing number of fisheries are affected by environmental change driven by human behavior. A relevant example is Florida's oyster industry in the Gulf of Mexico, including the famous Apalachicola Bay fishery. As development and population have increased in the surrounding region, the river system that drains into the Florida Gulf has seen diminished water supply. Oysters rely on a particular mix of fresh and saltwater, so changes in the fresh water level affects the ecosystem and the fishing industry. In this thesis, I analyze the effect and value of freshwater input in the oyster fisheries of the Florida Gulf. I find that the effect of freshwater inflow on oyster productivity varies by season, with quarter three flow being of primary importance. Depending on the county and valuation method, I find a standard deviation change in freshwater inflow to be worth between $318,650.98 and $834,004.81 over two years in the context of oyster fisheries. While this specific situation is of particular interest, this work also contributes to the broader literature regarding the role and value of natural resources as economic inputs.Item Resource development and the Missouri River Basin(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1951) Bowman, Robert W.Item A programming model for evaluating changes in resource use in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1972) Hash, Charles T.Item National forest timber harvest variability(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1984) Forrester, Albert AyersIt has long been the goal of the United States Forest Service to stabilize timber dependent communities via a sustained yield, even-flow of timber from the National Forests. This policy has been based upon the assumption that timber markets have a destabilizing impact on these communities since private timber operators harvest at varying rates. This paper examines the question of whether or not private harvests are more variable than Forest Service harvests. Statistically, it is shown that Forest Service harvests are not stable and that private harvests are much less variable than national forest harvests. The focus of the paper then turns to an explanation of the variability in Forest Service harvests. Timber sales policies and the Forest Service contract are given as two possible sources of this variability. Regression analysis shows that, for the most part, timber harvests are not significantly related to sales and that apparently there is enough slack in the timber contracts to allow operators time to alter harvest rates according to changes in the economy. Econometric analysis shows that harvests do respond to changes in the economy. Thus harvest variability is not solely due to variability in Forest Service timber sales. Because of the apparent lack of rigidity in timber contracts, evidenced by contract extension, termination, alteration, and slack in the contract period, it is proposed that firms harvesting national forest timber will behave differently than firms harvesting under private contracts. Specifically, it is proposed that firms reduce harvest rates dramatically when prices fall, perhaps ceasing operations altogether, and increasing harvest rates when prices rise. Econometric analysis shows that such behavior in national forest timber supply is present. The evidence provides a partial explanation of national forest harvest variability.Item Natural resource rents and institutional change(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2005) Scarborough, Brandon Christopher; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Richard L. Stroup.Recent literature argues that nations with abundant natural resources - primarily oil and minerals - tend to grow more slowly comparatively to resource-poor nations. Much of this cross-national variation in economic performance may be explained by the interaction between natural resources and institutional quality. Focusing on the importance of economic institutions in the form of property rights and the rule of law this paper presents an alternative explanation for the diverging economic paths in resource rich nations. Economic rents generated from abundant oil and gas resources may affect institutions or institutional quality. Further, that impact on institutions is itself contingent upon the quality of such institutions during the payoff period of the resource windfalls. The findings suggest that resource wealth has a positive influence on the strength of property rights and the rule of law (and thus, by inference on economic growth) in the nations that start out with strong protection of property rights and associated rule of law, but a negative influence in nations that do not. The results appear robust to alternative specifications of the resource variable.