Evaluating the 100th Meridian Initiative: Assessing the Impacts of Zebra Mussel Invasion on the Columbia River Basin
نویسندگان
چکیده
The threat of zebra mussel invasion into the Western United States grows every year, though little is known about their impact once populations are established. This paper combines economic and biological models to account for the uncertainty in both severity of damages and timing. We find that expected loss to the households in the Columbia River Basin will be about $1.94 million annually. These impacts will fall heavily on a few industries, but if these damages can be spread across residents, the per capita impacts will be relatively small. We solve for an optimal tax and redistribution mechanism to mitigate welfare loss.
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