Special Issues
Upcoming Special Issues
2010 Special Issue: Water in the 21st Century
A special issue relating to economic methods, models, applications and institutions relevant to water issues in different jurisdictions and watersheds will be published in the December 2010 Special Issue. Editors: Terry Veeman (retired, University of Alberta), Mark Eiswerth (University of Wisconsin, Whitewater), G. Cornelis van Kooten (University of Victoria), Elwin Smith (Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge)
Motivation: Water allocation continues to be a contentious issue in most of western North America and most parts of the world. Demand for water from agriculture, industry and municipalities continues to increase at the same time that in-stream use is increasingly important and supply may, in some regions, be declining as a result of climate change and other factors. In addition to demand and supply issues, water quality has important implications for human and environmental health. Water quality affects recreational use, ability to irrigate certain crops, habitat for fish and other aquatic life, wetlands, and the visual and other attributes of rivers, lakes, bays and other water bodies. Recognition of the impact that individual decisions have on entire watersheds has increasingly resulted in economic analyses that integrate agricultural production systems with hydrological modelling. These complex systems approaches are feasible because of increased computing power. Water and its quality are also viewed as an ecological good with nonmarket value. For the special issue, we encourage authors to submit manuscripts that develop new and innovative analytical and institutional approaches to address current and future water issues as these affect agriculture and the use of natural resources more broadly.
2011 Special Issue: Wetlands Management, Economics and Policy
A special issue devoted to wetlands management, economics and policy, resulting from the on the "Wetlands Management, Economics and Policy" workshop held jointly by the University of Victoria and the University of Alberta from January 13-15, 2010 in Victoria, British Columbia. The complexity of wetland ecosystems poses challenges for management, valuation and the establishment of sound policy to conserve them. In recognition of these challenges and the important but often neglected role of wetlands in society, selected papers from the workshop will be published in a special issue of the Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics. Editors: G. Cornelis van Kooten (University of Victoria) and Peter Boxall (University of Alberta)
Motivation: Wetland ecosystems are among the most important in the world, both from an economic and environmental perspective. Wetlands provide a large number of services, the most important of which relate to protection against flooding, water quality, assimilation of wastes, and wildlife habitat. In Europe, coastal wetlands protect residential areas against flooding from the sea, while all wetlands are important for recreation, improving water quality, and providing habitat for numerous waterfowl and other wildlife. The Prairie Pothole Region of Canada and the United States provides most of the breeding habitat for North American waterfowl. However, this region is also North America's breadbasket and, as is true of many wetland areas, is a highly altered landscape that is primarily utilized for agricultural production. Given the focus in many countries on energy crops for ethanol and biodiesel, it will be increasingly difficult to protect wetlands and associated grasslands in such agricultural regions.
Past Special Issues
2009 Special Issue: Computational Economics: Applications in Agriculture, Bio-resources and the Environment
A special issue on the applications of modern computational economics to the environment and the agricultural and forestry sectors, and more broadly, natural resources, was published in the December 2009 Special Issue. Editors: James Nolan (University of Saskatchewan), Dawn Parker (George Mason University) and Richard Schoney (University of Saskatchewan).
2008 Special Issue: Agricultural Policy Changes: Canada, EU and the World Trade Organization
A special issue on the WTO and Agricultural Policy Changes in Canada and the EU was published in the December 2008 Special Issue. Papers were selected from the conference "Agricultural Policy Changes: Canada, EU and the World Trade Organization" held at the University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia. Editors: Paul Schure (University of Victoria) and Andrew Schmitz (University of Florida).
2007 Special Issue: Crises in Agricultural and Resource Sectors Workshop: Analysis of Policy Responses
A special issue on policy responses to agricultural and resource crises was published in the December 2007 Special Issue. Papers were selected from the joint conference of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Association (CAES), Farm Level Policy (FLP) Network and Canadian Agricultural Trade Policy Research Network (CATPRN) held in October 2006 in Calgary, Alberta. Editors: Vic Adamowicz (University of Alberta), Kathy Baylis (University of British Columbia), and Jim Unterschultz (University of Alberta).