Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T18:35:52.888Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Role of Economic Analysis in Local Government Decisions: The Case of Solid Waste Management

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

John M. Halstead  and
William M. Park
John M. Halstead
Affiliation:
Department of Resource Economics and Development, University of New Hampshire, Durham
William M. Park
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Get access

Abstract

The issue of solid waste management has risen to national prominence in the last decade, fueled by increasing waste disposal costs and changing public attitudes. This situation presents a major opportunity for economists to use their applied microeconomics skills to assist state and local governments manage waste in a cost effective fashion. While findings from formal research efforts may ultimately make their way into the decision-making process, perhaps economists can play an even more significant role in emphasizing the importance of the most basic economic concepts and principles for sound decision making in solid waste management or the many other areas in which local public choices are made. These areas would include at least the following: opportunity cost, marginal analysis of costs and benefits, and the role of economic incentives.

Type
New Issues and Fresh Approaches for Agricultural and Resource Economics
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , April 1996 , pp. 76 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. The Organization of Public Economies. A-109. Washington, D.C., 1987.Google Scholar
Beierlein, J., McSweeny, W., and Woodruff, B. “Cost Comparisons for Processing Recycled Waste Newspapers into Farm-Animal Bedding.” Northeastern Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics (1) (1991): 208–13.Google Scholar
Cigler, B.A. Setting Smalltown Research Priorities: The Service Delivery Dimensions. Washington, D.C.: USDA Economic Research Service, 1987.Google Scholar
Copeland, B. “International Trade in Waste Products in the Presence of Illegal Disposal.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 20 (1991): 143–62.Google Scholar
Deller, S.C., and Halstead, J.M. “Efficiency in the Production of Rural Road Services: The Case of New England Towns.” Land Economics 70(2) (1994): 247–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dooley, F.J., Bangsund, D.A., Leistritz, F.L., and Fischer, W.R. Estimating Optimal Landfill Sizes and Locations in North Dakota. Agricultural Economics Report No. 294. Fargo: North Dakota State University, 1993.Google Scholar
Eiswerth, M. “Using Dynamic Optimization for Integrated Environmental Management: An Application of Solvent Waste Disposal.” Land Economics 69(2) (1993): 168–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epp, D.J., and Mauger, P.C. “Attitudes and Household Characteristics Influencing Solid Waste Generation: A Household Garbage Analysis.” Northeastern Journal of Agricultural Economics 18(1) (1989): 46–51.Google Scholar
Fullerton, D. and Kinnaman, T. “Garbage, Recycling, and Illicit Burning or Dumping.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 29 (1995): 78–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galal, A., and Shirley, M. Does Privatization Deliver? Highlights from a World Bank Conference. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1994.Google Scholar
Gray, B. Collaborations: Finding Common Ground for Multiparty Problems. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1989.Google Scholar
Halbach, M.M. Financial Assurance for Land Disposal Facilities. Bismarck, North Dakota: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1990.Google Scholar
Halstead, J.M., Luloff, A.E., and Myers, S. “An Examination of the NIMBY Syndrome: Why Not in My Backyard?” Journal of the Community Development Society 24(1) (1991): 88–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halstead, J.M., Myers, S.D., Criner, G.K., and Deller, S.D. Solid Waste Management in Northern New England. New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Research Report No. 124. Durham: University of New Hampshire, 1991.Google Scholar
Huang, G., Anderson, W., and Baetz, B. “Environmental Input-Output Analysis and its Applications to Regional Solid Waste Management Planning.” Journal of Environmental Management 42 (1994): 63–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joyce, L.E. “How to Calculate Waste Disposal Costs.” Government Finance Review (August 1990): 20–21.Google Scholar
Keeler, A., and Renkow, M. “Haul Trash or Haul Ash: Energy Recovery as a Component of Local Solid Waste Management.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 27 (1994): 205–17.Google Scholar
Kiel, K., and McClain, K. “House Prices during Siting Decision Stages: The Case of an Incinerator from Rumor through Operation.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 28 (1995): 241–55.Google Scholar
Korsching, P.F., Borich, T.O., and Stewart, J., eds. Multicommunity Collaboration: An Evolving Rural Revitalization Strategy. Ames, Iowa: North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, 1992.Google Scholar
Kunreuther, H., Kleindorfer, P., Knez, P., and Yaksick, R. “A Compensation Mechanism for Siting Noxious Facilities: Theory and Experimental Design.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 14 (1987): 371–83.Google Scholar
Miceli, T.J. “The Decision to Regionalize in the Provision of Education: An Application of the Tiebout Model.” Journal of Urban Economics 33 (1993): 344–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miranda, M.L. “Market Based Incentives and Residential Municipal Solid Waste.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 13(4) (1994): 681–98.Google Scholar
Morris, G., and Holthausen, D. “The Economics of Household Solid Waste Generation and Disposal.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 26 (1994): 215–34.Google Scholar
Nelson, A., Genereux, J., and Genereux, M. “Price Effects of Landfills on House Values.” Land Economics 68(4) (1992): 359–65.Google Scholar
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES). Local Economic Impacts of Landfill Closure and Municipal Solid Waste Management. Concord: NHDES, Waste Management Division, 1995.Google Scholar
Oakerson, R.J. “Local Public Economics: Provision, Production and Governance.” Intergovernmental Perspectives 13 (1987): 20–25.Google Scholar
Palmer, K., and Walls, M. “Materials Use and Solid Waste Disposal: An Evaluation of Policies.” Resources for the Future (Fall 1994), no. 117.Google Scholar
Ready, M.J., and Ready, R. “Optimal Pricing of Depletable, Replaceable Resources: The Case of Landfill Tipping Fees.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 28 (1995): 307–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richardson, R., and Havlicek, J. “Economic Analysis of the Composition of Household Solid Wastes.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 5 (1978): 103–11.Google Scholar
Roberts, R., Douglas, P., and Park, W. “Estimating External Costs of Municipal Landfill Siting through Contingent Valuation Analysis.” Southern Journal of Agricultural Economics (2) (1991): 155–65.Google Scholar
Sandler, T., and Tschirhart, J. T. “The Economic Theory of Clubs.” Journal of Economic Literature 18 (1980): 1481–1521.Google Scholar
Simonsen, W. “Determinants of Waste-to-Energy Facility Costs.” Environmental Professional 16 (1994): 66–72.Google Scholar
Steuteville, R. “The State of Garbage in America.” BioCycle: Journal of Composting and Recycling 36(4) (1995): 54–63.Google Scholar
Strathman, J., Rufolo, A., and Mildner, G. “The Demand for Solid Waste Disposal.” Land Economics 71(1) (1995): 57–64.Google Scholar
Sullivan, A. “Policy Options for Toxics Disposal: Laissez-Faire, Subsidization, and Enforcement.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 14 (1987): 58–71.Google Scholar
Congress, U.S. Facing America's Trash: What Next for Municipal Solid Waste? OTA-O-424. Washington, D C.: Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), 1989.Google Scholar
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Characterizations of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 1990 Update. EPA/530-SW-90-042. Washington, D.C.: Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, 1990.Google Scholar
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pay as You Throw: Lessons Learned about Unit Pricing. EPA/530-R-94-004. Washington, D.C.: Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, 1994.Google Scholar
Weiss, J. “Pathways to Cooperation among Public Agencies.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 7(1) (1987): 94–117.Google Scholar
Wertz, K.L. “Economic Factors Influencing Households' Production of Refuse.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 2 (1976): 263–72.Google Scholar
Zilberman, D. “Economics and Interdisciplinary Collaboration Efforts.” Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 26(1) (1994): 35–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar