Environmental Effects of Agricultural Land-Use Change: The Role of Economics and Policy
by Ruben N. Lubowski, Shawn Bucholtz ,
Roger Claassen, Michael Roberts,
Joseph Cooper, Anna Gueorguieva, and Robert Johansson
Economic Research Report No. (ERR-25) 82 pp, August 2006
Environmental Effects of Agricultural Land-Use Change: The Role of Economics and Policy
This report examines evidence on the relationship between agricultural land-use changes, soil productivity, and indicators of environmental sensitivity. If cropland that shifts in and out of production is less productive and more environmentally sensitive than other cropland, policy-induced changes in land use could have production effects that are smaller—and environmental impacts that are greater—than anticipated. To illustrate this possibility, this report examines environmental outcomes stemming from land-use conversion caused by two agricultural programs that others have identified as potentially having important influences on land use and environmental quality: Federal crop insurance subsidies and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the Nation’s largest cropland retirement program.
Keywords: Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), crop insurance, erosion, extensive margin, farm policy, imperiled species, land use, land-use change, land quality, nutrient loss, soil productivity
In this publication...
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Report summary, Pdf file 110 kb
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Abstract, Acknowledgements, Contents. and Summary, Pdf file 61 kb
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Agricultural Policy and Environmental Effects of Marginal Cropland Changes, Pdf file 63 kb
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The Extensive Margin of Cultivated Cropland, Pdf file 1,147 kb
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Land Quality and Land-Use Change, Pdf file 77 kb
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Environmental Characteristics of Economically Marginal Cropland, Pdf file 3,468 kb
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Environmental Effects of Policy-Induced Land-Use Changes, Pdf file 167 kb
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Conclusions, Pdf file 25 kb
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References, Pdf file 49 kb
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Appendix, Pdf file 772 kb
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Entire Document, Pdf file 2,384 kb
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