Integrating Economic Land-Use and Biophysical Models

Posted: 12 Oct 2015

See all articles by Andrew Plantinga

Andrew Plantinga

University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) - Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management

Date Written: October 2015

Abstract

Land-use change is a leading cause of environmental degradation in terrestrial systems and has important implications for natural resource use. Economists have a long tradition of studying land use and in recent decades have developed empirical land-use models using econometric and optimization approaches. Integration of these land-use and biophysical models allows for a more comprehensive analysis of the consequences of future land-use change and the use of land-use policies to avoid undesirable outcomes. I provide a conceptual framework for the modeling approach, describing the individual components of an analysis as well as how they are linked together. My review describes how the literature has evolved to take advantage of spatial data and greater computing capabilities. Although most researchers have used either an econometric or an optimization approach, there is potential to combine these methods to identify more efficient land-use policies that still meet criteria of tractability and political acceptance.

Suggested Citation

Plantinga, Andrew, Integrating Economic Land-Use and Biophysical Models (October 2015). Annual Review of Resource Economics, Vol. 7, Issue 1, pp. 233-249, 2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2672292 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-100814-125056

Andrew Plantinga (Contact Author)

University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) - Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management ( email )

4670 Physical Sciences North
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5131
United States

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