The Economics of Dead Zones: Causes, Impacts, Policy Challenges, and a Model of the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone
The Economics of Dead Zones: Causes, Impacts, Policy Challenges, and a Model of the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone
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死亡区的经济学：原因、影响、政策挑战和墨西哥湾缺氧区模型
DOI：
10.1093/reep/ret024
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发表时间：
2014
影响因子：
5.4
通讯作者：
R. Turner
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
S. Rabotyagov;C. Kling;P. Gassman;N. Rabalais;R. Turner
本文回顾和分析了世界范围内与缺氧区有关的问题以及急需解答的一系列经济问题。我们首先描述了全球范围内缺氧区的范围和原因，然后回顾了有关缺氧区的生态效应及其对生态系统服务的影响的证据。我们描述了已知的减排方案和具有成本效益的政策设计，然后重点关注墨西哥湾季节性反复出现的大面积缺氧区。我们提供了一个简单的计量经济模型来估计污染物（营养物质）和缺氧区大小之间的关系。这种“生产函数”关系表明，瞬时和历史的养分贡献都会影响区域的大小。我们的研究结果支持了生态学家提出的关于生态系统恢复滞后的担忧，并证实了多种营养物质作为目标污染物的重要性。最后，我们讨论了支持解决这一重要生态和经济问题的政策制定所需的跨学科研究和合作类型。（凝胶：q51， q52, q57, b4）
This article reviews and analyzes the issues related to worldwide hypoxic zones and the range of economic questions sorely in need of answers. We begin by describing the extent and causes of hypoxic zones worldwide, followed by a review of the evidence concerning ecological effects of hypoxic zones and their impacts on ecosystem services. We describe what is known about abatement options and cost-effective policy design, and then focus on the large seasonally recurring hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. We offer a simple econometric model to estimate the relationship between pollutants (nutrients) and the size of the hypoxic zone. This “production function” relationship suggests that both instantaneous and historical nutrient contributions affect the size of the zone. Our results support concerns that ecologists have raised about lags in the recovery of the ecosystem and confirm the importance of multiple nutrients as target pollutants. We conclude with a discussion of the types of research and cooperation across disciplines that are needed to support the development of policies to address this important ecological and economic issue. (JEL: Q51, Q52, Q57, B4)