This study investigates consumer preferences for two emerging food waste reduction technologies – gene editing and all-natural spray coating – applied to apples. Using a discrete choice experiment with a nationally representative sample of U.S. consumers (n = 413), we estimate willingness to pay for gene-edited apples, spray-coated apples, and untreated apples. A generalized mixed logit model in willingness to pay space reveals that consumers exhibit the highest WTP for gene-edited apples ($2.45/lb), followed by spray-coated apples ($2.37/lb), with untreated apples valued least ($1.79/lb). Latent Class Analysis identifies three consumer segments: Price-Sensitive Skeptics, Sustainability-Oriented Consumers, and Selective Technology Adopters. Sustainability-Oriented Consumers showed the strongest support for both technologies, while Selective Technology Adopters displayed a clear preference for gene editing. Behavioral attitudes, rather than demographic variables, were the main drivers of segmentation. These findings suggest that tailored marketing strategies and policy interventions, including sustainability messaging, pricing incentives, and educational outreach, can support the adoption of food waste-reducing technologies. Overall, consumers are receptive to both gene-edited and spray-coated apples, though concerns about biotechnology and price sensitivity remain. Results offer insights for producers, retailers, and regulators aiming to enhance fresh produce sustainability and reduce food waste along the supply chain.

This article serves as an introduction to the Special Issue section “Measuring and Enhancing Resilience of United States Rural Communities in the Context of Climate Variability.” To set the stage for this section, we review how climate hazards impact rural areas and synthesize insights that emerge across the issue’s four papers, noting their policy relevance and highlighting opportunities for continued research. We argue that emerging data tools can help program designers and policy makers better support the resilience of rural areas, but that doing so remains complicated by heterogeneity in resources and vulnerabilities across rural areas.

Inland valley wetlands in West African countries are considered to hold immense potential for rice-based production systems. Policies to increase rice production in inland valleys have until now not lived up to expectations. Previous studies have examined biophysical factors that affect the adoption of inland valley farming, but little empirical work has explored the socio-economic drivers of adoption. This study explores the determinants of farmers’ decisions to adopt inland valley farming and rice production in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana using probit model with data collected from 742 farmers. We show that owners of perennial tree crops are less likely to adopt inland valley farming and rice production than non-owners. This could be because perennial tree crops yield higher economic returns and provide financial stability, also for the next generation, than inland valley farming and rice production. Furthermore, farm size positively correlates with inland valley farming, but households with larger farms tend not to opt for rice production. Our results underscore that the relation between farm size and agricultural production decisions may depend on the type of agricultural practice. These results suggest that policymakers could strengthen local institutions and service providers to target specific groups of farmers when promoting inland valley farming and rice production.

Heirs’ property poses barriers to income and wealth generation, especially in rural and underserved communities. Using county-level data from the contiguous U.S., this study examines spatial clustering and socioeconomic correlates of heirs’ property prevalence. Results show strong spatial concentration in the South and higher prevalence in counties with large Black populations, rural areas, and Appalachia. Income inequality and financial factors are more strongly associated with heirs’ property than poverty. Spatial spillovers suggest that addressing heirs’ property in one county may benefit neighbors. Findings highlight spatial dynamics and offer insights for targeting communities and promoting equitable land ownership.

Irrigation can enhance yields and serve as a climate adaptation strategy. In the Southeastern U.S., where water resources are relatively abundant, irrigation has experienced significant growth. However, despite the region’s capacity for further expansion, irrigation adoption rates remain low. This study estimates the influence of peer effects on farmers’ decisions to adopt irrigation in South Carolina, using a unique parcel-level dataset on irrigation withdrawals. We find that adoption increases as farmers observe more peer adopting irrigation – social interactions – and as peers’ pumping increases, such as during drought periods, when the benefits of irrigation become more visible, facilitating social learning.

Traditionally, many meat demand analyses have used publicly available data amassed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Circana retail point-of-sale scanner data offer an alternative to these publicly available data sources. Scanner data allow for quantity-weighting retail prices to account for increased purchases at lower prices due to sales and promotions. We find that quantity-weighted scanner-based beef and pork prices are lower than those reported by USDA, whereas quantity-weighted chicken prices are higher. Rotterdam demand models are estimated using both publicly available and scanner data sources. Own- and cross-price elasticities estimated using scanner data are greater in magnitude than those estimated using publicly available data, suggesting meat consumers may be more price sensitive than indicated by elasticity estimates from publicly available data sources. Scanner data insights are further explored by estimating demand for meat products with organic or natural claims. Demand elasticities for these differentiated meat products are more elastic than those for meat products without such claims, highlighting a greater amount of consumer price sensitivity when purchasing such products.

Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) refers to a holistic approach to managing soil fertility that combines a variety of techniques and practices to improve soil health and enhance agricultural productivity, particularly in smallholder farming systems. Despite the associated higher labor and other input demands associated with ISFM adoption, there is limited empirical evidence regarding the positive outcomes of these investments at the household level. Using data from 380 tomato farmers in three regions of Ghana, we explore the relationship between ISFM adoption and household welfare. The methodology employed relies on inverse probability weighting regression adjustment (IPWRA). The findings reveal that ISFM adoption positively impacts household welfare by increasing net income by GH₵436.88 ($60.43)/ha, improving household assets by GH₵518.17 ($71.67)/ha, enhancing food security by 1.23 points, and reducing household expenditure by GH₵57.39 ($7.94)/ha. The results highlight ISFM’s potential to enhance smallholder welfare through increased income, improved household assets, and better food security, contributing to poverty reduction and sustainable agricultural development. Policies should focus on improving access to fertilizers, seeds, and pesticides, coupled with extension services and farmer education programs to promote ISFM adoption. Tailored interventions targeting older and more experienced farmers, as well as household heads, are essential to overcome barriers to adoption and maximize the economic and welfare benefits of ISFM practices.

Smartphones, as more sophisticated versions of mobile phones, are expected to significantly influence how rural households manage their farms. This paper examines the extent to which smartphone ownership affects the adoption of modern agricultural inputs and technologies at the extensive margin. Using a rich, nationally representative household-level dataset from Nigeria and appropriate identification strategies, we find that smartphone ownership increases the likelihood of hiring labor, using phytosanitary inputs, and operating tractors. These findings suggest that promoting the diffusion of modern digital tools in rural areas can complement traditional agricultural input support programs, offering a promising avenue to enhance agricultural productivity and livelihoods in Nigeria.

Although forests play a vital role in US climate strategies, US forest area is expected to decline in the coming decades. Policymakers can help arrest or reverse that decline by strengthening incentives for forest carbon sequestration. Increased funding for afforestation, restoration, and bioenergy and wood products market development will likely benefit the forest sector unevenly across geographic, commercial, and demographic dimensions. This review explores the effects of policies – particularly incentives for afforestation and reforestation, carbon credit market participation, and wood products utilization – on US forest communities. We describe this policy landscape and use various data to investigate effects on diverse stakeholders, with special emphasis on the implications for disadvantaged and forest-dependent communities.

Afforestation policies in the South-Central region could significantly enhance carbon dioxide removal while reshaping rural dynamics. Forest carbon credit markets, though crucial for climate goals, may disadvantage small forest owners and communities, instead favoring large corporate entities. Policies promoting wood products in the South-Central region could benefit forest-dependent, high-poverty communities. We also note how policy implementation might ensure an equitable distribution of climate-related benefits among stakeholders in the forest sector.

An increasing number of disaster relief programs rely on weather data to trigger automated payouts. However, several factors can meaningfully affect payouts, including the choice of data set, its spatial resolution, and the historical reference period used to determine abnormal conditions to be indemnified. We investigate these issues for a subsidized rainfall-based insurance program in the U.S. using data averaged over 0.25° × 0.25° grids to trigger payouts. We simulate the program using 5x finer spatial resolution precipitation estimates and evaluate differences in payouts from the current design. Our analysis across the highest enrolling state (Texas) from 2012 to 2023 reveals that payout determinations would differ in 13% of cases, with payout amounts ranging from 46 to 83% of those calculated using the original data. This potentially reduces payouts by tens of millions annually, assuming unchanged premiums. We then discuss likely factors contributing to payout differences, including intra-grid variation, reference periods used, and varying precipitation distributions. Finally, to address basis risk concerns, we propose ways to use these results to identify where mismatches may lurk, in turn informing strategic sampling campaigns or alternative designs that could enhance the value of insurance and protect producers from downside risks of poor weather conditions.

The term resilience has begun to proliferate in regional economic literature over the last decade as more and more authors have sought to connect the term to economic shocks. Resilience as a concept is not new, particularly for ecology and engineering, but its use in regional economic analysis is more recent. Many authors have sought to define and measure the resilience of regions to exogenous shocks, utilizing multifaceted interdisciplinary approaches. This paper uses a bibliometric approach to conduct an in-depth critical review of both the definitions and metrics associated with regional resilience. We found 98 unique studies that were reviewed to collate and analyze methods and indicators used to measure regional economic resilience. Our analysis identified 202 unique metrics (e.g., educational attainment) associated with regional economic resilience that can be aggregated into 15 overarching themes (e.g., demographics), and represented in 3 distinct clusters (e.g., community development).

Integrating nature and green space into urban areas is a growing social challenge. The dollar value that renters place on public amenities when choosing where to live is essential for policymakers and urban planners looking to provide equitable access to environmental amenities and other public goods. This study estimates renter willingness to pay (WTP) for urban green space in the greater Boston area, utilizing a sorting model framework with data on census, transit, and neighborhood quality measures. My results suggest that renter household WTP is between $1.17 and $1.64 for an additional percentage point of urban green space in their location decisions. I examine differences in WTP for green space between white and minority renters, uncovering both shared and divergent sorting behaviors, as well as disparities in the distribution of environmental benefits across groups.

Heirs’ property is a form a land tenure that can negatively impact landowners, particularly those who want to use their land for agricultural purposes. Over the past decade there has been an increase in legal reforms and assistance programs aimed at addressing issues associated with heirs’ property. Yet, this phenomenon has received little attention in the applied economics literature. With the aim of motivating future economic research, we make the following two contributions. First, we synthesize the existing multi-disciplinary literature on heirs’ property into an economically tractable framework. Second, we use parcel-level tax record data from 2015 and 2021 to track changes to the amount of heirs’ property over time and examine its rate of formation net of land leaving heirs’ property. We examine the changes to heirs’ property on non-agricultural and agricultural parcels (and the number of acres of land within parcels) separately. We find that the total number of parcels and acres, on non-agricultural lands, declined by about one percent and six percent, respectively. Whereas, acreage on heirs’ property agricultural lands decreased by about two percent. These small changes mask large transitions in and out of heirs’ property. Our estimates suggest that the formation of heirs’ property persists today and offsets most of the reductions obtained from land leaving heirs’ property. Additional analysis reveals significant heterogeneity across regions and localities.

Water demand continues to increase in the western U.S., straining existing (and forecasted future) supplies. Water transfers – through either the sale of water rights or contractual leases of bounded duration – are now a well-established means of reallocating water to the highest economic benefit. Water is not a typical commodity, however. Significant variability in price across different geographic locations reflects differences in hydrologic conditions, demand and supply, and infrastructure development. These differences will persist even in well-functioning markets due to high transportation costs and user interconnectivity.

While sufficient data now exist to describe market activity and price trends, no study has yet performed a rigorous analysis that fully accounts for contract type (whether water rights transfer or lease) and price endogeneity. We fill this gap by estimating a simultaneous system of demand equations for rights transfers and leases that accounts for supply drivers of price determination. As one might anticipate, the demand for leases is more elastic than the demand for water rights. Accounting for contract type and price endogeneity provides a more accurate estimation of water’s market value in different locations across the western U.S. Ignoring either issue leads to significant biases with policy implications.