Thesis (Ph. D., Natural Resources)--University of Idaho, May 2007. / Major professor: Jo Ellen Force. Includes bibliographical references (leaves ). Also available online (PDF file) by subscription or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-141). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 1996. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 300-325).

This dissertation contains three essays on Urban Economics. The first two chapters study the impact of land-use regulation on economic development. Many countries have land-use regulations to preserve farmland from urban land expansion. In Chapter 1 and 2, I show that such regulations can distort economic activity across sectors and locations at a substantial cost to aggregate welfare in developing countries during urbanization. Specifically, I study a major policy restricting farm-to-urban land conversion in China - the Farmland Red Line Policy - to provide causal evidence on the impact of land-use regulation on local development measured by GDP and population growth. The policy imposes a barrier to urban land development, the strength of which depends on exogenous local geographical features. In Chapter 1, I show that a greater barrier significantly reduces urban land supply, lowers GDP, and decreases population. Findings in Chapter 1 raises the question about the aggregate impact of the Farmland Red Line Policy. Therefore, in the second chapter, I develop a quantitative spatial equilibrium model that features endogenous land-use decisions in order to understand the aggregate impact of the policy. According to the model, the policy causes an excess supply of farmland and an under-supply of urban land, and the extent of such land misallocation varies across locations due to their local geographical features. In the constrained equilibrium, the spatial and sectoral mobility of workers implies that land misallocation leads to labor misallocation. The calibrated model reveals that the welfare of workers would have been 6% higher in 2010 if the policy had not been implemented. Moreover, a cap-and-trade system that achieved the same aggregate level of farmland would have been far less costly in terms of welfare. The results suggest that fast-growing economies in developing countries need to design land-use policies carefully, as the welfare costs of poorly designed policies can be substantial. In Chapter 3, I test the impact of team size on one's publication output among US university economists from 1996 to 2011. I construct a database of affiliation and publication history for all US university economists using the publication information from the Scopus Database. University funding revenue from government appropriation and private gifts is used as an instrument for the total number of economists at a university. I find that a 10% increase in team size raises one's publication on top 5 economic journals by 30%. Moreover, the team size effect disappears once crossing the affiliation border: having more economists in a nearby affiliation does not affect one's output. Finally, increasing chances to coauthor with colleagues when being part of a larger team helps explain the team size effect.

This research explores decision making in land suitability with regard to natural resource management, as it is practised in South Africa and internationally. The complexity of the problem leads to the need to use stakeholder analysis and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis which are researched further in the dissertation. A framework for decision making on land suitability is suggested. It is applied experimentally in several case studies on decision making in land suitability with regard to natural resource management. A land suitability analysis provides a typical scenario whereby a hard factual approach such as a GIS with data on soils, climate, rainfall, topography, ecosystems, etc. is combined with socio-economic activities such as agriculture, forestry and nature conservation. Most land suitability analysis is carried out with the aid ofa GIS. However, a GIS is limited to largely objective, spatial data. It is here that multicriteria decision analysis plays an important role by combining the different stakeholder perspectives with socio-economic and scientific data in a comprehensive Decision Support System. In this research, the Analytic Hierarchy Process is used to produce an experimental model on decision making in land suitability and this model is then tested against real life case studies which proves the model to be a valid decision making technique. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

published_or_final_version / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

by Ng Tat-ming Simon. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-109). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.iii / Chapter / Chapter 1. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Economic Reform and Social Change / Law and Economic Reform / The Case of Urban Land Management in Shenzhen / The Research Problem and Its Significance / The Scope of Research / Limitations and Difficulties / Arrangement of Chapters / Chapter 2. --- THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF LAND LAWS AND PRACTICES： A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE PRE-REFORM AND REFORM ERA --- p.22 / The State Ownership System / "Laws and Policies in Pre-reform China, 1949-1978" / The Post-1978 Reform and Urban Land Use / Concluding Remarks / Chapter 3. --- THE DEVELOPMENT OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAWS IN THE REFORM ERA: THE CASE OF SHENZHEN SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE --- p.45 / "Land Laws and the Development of Shenzhen SEZ, 1982 -1987" / Infra-structural Development of Land and Disguised Land Market / Adjusting to the New Socio-economic Situation: Development in Shenzhen SEZ since1987of Land Management Laws / The SEZ Land Management Regulations1988 and Beyond / Chapter 4. --- CONCLUSION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS --- p.81 / Reversal of Socialism: Implications of the Shenzhen' Exper ience / Withering Idea of Land Management and Proliferation of Networks of Legal Relationships upon Urban Land / The Influence of Hong Kong / Jurisprudential Implications of Shenzhen's Experience / Conclusion / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.94 / APPENDIX I --- p.104 / APPENDIX II --- p.110

Many national parks in lesser developed countries are threatened by adjacent human land uses. To meet both social and environmental needs, effective programs must be implemented to manage lands adjacent to national parks for conservation and development. This requires careful analysis of the socio-economic aspects of existing land use patterns and their implications for biological conservation. Research was undertaken adjacent to Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica. The biological integrity of the park depends on maintenance of natural habitats on lands adjacent to the lowland sector of the park. Existing lowland forest habitat adjacent to the park is rapidly being converted to pasture. Protecting the park's lowland biological resources depends on both stopping the influx of colonists into the area and encouraging land uses with biological conservation value outside the park. Both these issues are explored in detail. The rationale behind existing land uses in the region is discussed in relation to socio-economic variables identified from the literature on land use choice in Latin America. Large landholders generally engage in beef cattle ranching, frequently in association which land speculation. Small landholders prefer dairy cattle for cheese production is due to its low risk, stable markets, and the possibility of gradual and reversible entry. Smaller cattle operations use land more intensively, but by investing more labor appear to achieve sustainability. More intensive cash cropping is often combined with cattle to increase overall income. Timber production shows potential to partially replace cattle as an extensive, low risk land use. The impact of different adjacent land uses on park biological resources was assessed through a survey of biologists familiar with the region. The two land uses of greatest benefit to park resources were completely protected forest and natural forest management for timber production. The two land uses causing greatest harm to park resources were annual crops and pasture. Two management options for conservation and development adjacent to the park are proposed: (1) a forest buffer, and (2) a mosaic of different land uses, including pasture, perennial crops, and forest.

This investigation is concerned with perceived detrimental aspects of land use and the desirability of extending government participation in land use goals. Interviews with 179 persons were conducted. The data reveal a possible direct relationship between social class and the acceptance of land use and economic controls. The project endorses the following proposals: Local regulations should require housing developers to provide the streets and utilities and to dedicate land for parks and schools. Taxation should be used as a regulatory tool for the attainment of public policy objectives. A federal commission is needed to encourage comprehensive land management programs. It is also suggested that future land management questionnaires should use random samples and ask questions about specific land use problems.

Sustainable development is a multi-faceted and complex proposition, investigating such a goal required a grounded study capable of analysing real world issues. Managing such a highly diverse region as Western Sydney with its multiple demands is complicated by the plethora of government administration agencies. Contemporary land use planning policies and decisions appear frequently at odds with community values and aspirations for the region. Evidence presented in this research suggests a declining natural resource base that manifests itself in an insidious cost impost to the public sector while the benefits accrue to the private sector.Eventual developments in the resolution and maintenance of the functional integrity of the natural systems in Western Sydney may demand a major paradigm shift in economic and social policy. This research suggests that a precautionary based approach to thresholds of harm in the Western Sydney region is long overdue. Tools developed in this study appear capable of clarifying the evident land use planning paradoxes and may assist in negotiating sustainable outcomes by fostering a collaborative learning process between decision makers, experts and the community. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)