The Economics of a Public Fund for Environmental Amenities: A Study of CRP Contracts
研究在土地生产力和环境异质性下，如何通过不同标准（如效益成本比、效益水平、成本水平）来购买环境服务，并利用基尼系数和洛伦兹曲线评估支出效率。
Abstract The problem of targeting CRP purchases to buy environmental amenities under productivity and environmental heterogeneity is considered. Gini coefficients and Lorenz curves are used to measure the effectiveness of spending under alternative targeting criteria. The environmental benefits considered are water erosion, wind erosion, surface water quality, and wildlife habitat. The three alternative targeting criteria examined include purchasing land according to ( i ) the benefit‐to‐cost ratio, ( ii ) the level of benefits, and ( iii ) the level of cost. Results indicate that the degree of variability and correlation determine the extent to which suboptimal targeting achieves a significant portion of available environmental benefits.