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Abstract

Adelaja, S. and Y.G. Hailu.2008. State conservation spending in the U.S.: a political economy analysis. JEMREST 5:00-00

Natural and environmental resources provide a wide array of market and non-market benefits to society. Residents in many states are, however, increasingly concerned about the adequacy of state and local government conservation efforts, voiced through state, county, and municipal conservation ballot initiatives. A number of states have responded by expanding their conservation policies and by committing additional resources to conservation funding.

Significant differences in per capita conservation spending across the U.S. calls for critical understanding of the drivers of conservation spending. This study focuses on the determinants of state conservation spending in the U.S. A political economy model is developed and applied to data from 48 states in estimating the conservation spending gap for each state. Each state’s socioeconomic, demographic, natural resources, and political structure characteristics are identified as key drivers of conservation spending. Data collected from each state’s budget office provided the information on conservation spending. Other data is collected from U.S. Census and GIS generated data. The conservation spending gap is the difference between what a state commits to conservation funding and what it should have given its unique characteristics.

Results indicate: (1) conservation spending is not significantly driven by resource endowment; (2) while state GDP and ability to tax increase conservation spending, poverty and public debt discourage conservation spending; (3) states with balanced legislative power tend to have more conservation spending. These results underscore the need to consider socioeconomic and political forces in each state in designing and implementing conservation policies.