Jakus, Paul M.

September, 2023

Identifying Constraints to Rural Economic Development: A Development Guidance Function Approach

By: Koirala, Samjhana; Jakus, Paul M.; Watson, Philip
We propose a method that incorporates specific business needs and community goals to identify community assets that most constrain local economic development. Access to a managerial workforce was the most common highly ranked constraint, but the set of most constraining assets varies across communities. Thus, a one-size-fits-all development policy is not appropriate. We also find that constraint rankings are highly correlated among communities that share tourism potential, that share energy resources, or that rely upon production agriculture. Development practitioners may craft a suite of development policies, each tailored to communities of a given typology.
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December, 2000

THE EFFECT OF FLUCTUATING WATER LEVELS ON RESERVOIR FISHING

By: Jakus, Paul M.; Dowell, Paula; Murray, Matthew N.
The effect of Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir water levels on recreational fishing is evaluated. Data were collected in east Tennessee during March through August of 1994-97. Water levels were not a major barrier to participation during the six-month period, but levels did affect the number of trips taken by anglers. Maintaining lakes at full pool for one additional summer month would result in an additional one-third trip per angler, or an additional 87,000 trips in the study region. The average net benefit of a full pool is $1.82 per angler, or an aggregate benefit of approximately $476,500 in the region.
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December, 1997

HOUSEHOLD WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR DROPOFF RECYCLING

By: Tiller, Kelly; Jakus, Paul M.; Park, William M.
Increased landfilling costs and state-mandated reductions in municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal have combined to increase interest in recycling as an MSW management option. Most benefit-cost analyses, however, focus solely on urban curbside recycling programs and/or fail to include the benefits which accrue to households from the opportunity to recycle. This study focuses on the economic feasibility of dropoff recycling in rural areas, presenting estimates of household willingness to pay (WTP) for dropoff recycling in a rural/suburban area of Tennessee. Using contingent valuation, the most conservative mean household WTP is near $4.00 per household per month.
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July, 1996

GENERATION OF RECYCLABLES BY RURAL HOUSEHOLDS

By: Jakus, Paul M.; Tiller, Kelly; Park, William M.
Rising landfill costs have forced solid waste managers to consider ways to reduce the waste stream. Using survey data, models explaining the weight of recyclables generated by households are estimated for paper and glass. Results indicate that households respond to the time cost of recycling paper but not glass. The waste generation models imply total monthly willingness to pay for recycling is $5.78 per household. Waste managers may increase the weight of recycled waste stream with programs which lower perceived time costs of nonrecyclers and improve the efficiency of recyclers.
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