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A Household Production Analysis of Fuelwood Demand in Rhode Island

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2017

John MacKenzie  and
Thomas F. Weaver
John MacKenzie
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Food Economics, University of Delaware
Thomas F. Weaver
Affiliation:
Department of Resource Economics, University of Rhode Island
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Abstract

A model analyzing household substitution of fuelwood for other heating fuels is needed to clarify the relationship between energy prices and patterns of forest resource utilization. This paper employs the household production methodology to model fuelwood demand in Rhode Island. Data from a cross-sectional survey of 515 households are employed to test a discrete-choice model of household participation in wood-burning and a four-equation system modeling household production of heat and aesthetic benefits from fuelwood and stove capital. Control of selection bias via inclusion of an appropriate instrument allows analysis of aggregate demands. Some broad policy prescriptions applicable to the Northeast generally are presented.

Type
Research Article
Information
Northeastern Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , April 1986 , pp. 53 - 60
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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Footnotes

The authors are grateful for comments by Olasupo Ladipo, Steven Hastings and NJARE's anonymous reviewers. This paper is published with the approval of the University of Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station as AES Publication #2264, and with the approval of the University of Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station as Miscellaneous Paper #1105.

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