Doctoral Dissertation Research in DRMS: Protecting the Coastline - Optimal Coastal Inundation Adaptation Mechanisms

近年来，美国东海岸的沿海社区因猛烈的风暴和相关的沿海淹没事件而遭受了相当大的破坏。科学家预测，由于海平面上升和海洋温度升高，这些事件可能会增加。通过对沿海基础设施的公共投资，这种损害可以最小化，在某些情况下可以避免。然而，与产权和风险认知相关的问题可能使政府规划者难以设计有效的基础设施系统。因此，这一领域的公共政策往往相当困难，导致保护措施的拼凑，使一些沿海地区受到的保护不如一个综合保护系统。在这种情况下，由于风暴潮和洪水造成的损害涉及非线性的、空间明确的水文过程，以及决策环境的复杂性可能导致的行为效率低下，传统经济理论所推荐的协调政策在这种情况下是不够的。本研究使用经济实验来调查在政府直接行动不可行的情况下用于沿海基础设施规划的政策工具。本研究旨在通过创造“智能”环境，确定能够有效保护沿海地区的自愿机制。激励机制足以形成综合海岸保护。本研究将以实验经济学、数学规划、博弈论和水文建模技术为基础，解决“如何设计激励机制，通过沿海土地所有者的自愿行动来创建有效的沿海保护系统”这一问题。在最近的大型沿海飓风之后，许多沿海国家对探索沿海保护的适应和实施战略非常感兴趣。例如，在大西洋中部，特拉华州、新泽西州、纽约州和康涅狄格州最近都成立了机构来调查潜在的脆弱性和对海平面上升的适应反应。这些机构提出的挑战之一是协调独立的地方当局和土地所有者之间的反应。这项研究将采用“智能市场”技术，这些技术已经成功地应用于解决其他领域的问题，例如公用事业和交通基础设施的发展。这些方法可以建立类似市场的交换环境，同时也考虑到通常是传统市场之外的空间和信息问题。通过在实验经济学实验室中测试人类参与者和直接财政激励的替代政策结构，本研究将为考虑到风暴潮和沿海地区海平面上升的物理和环境动态，哪些政策将最有效地协调当地决策者的问题提供关键见解。

Recent years have seen considerable damages to coastal communities along the eastern coast of the United States from violent storms and related coastal inundation events. Scientists predict that these events will likely increase due to sea level rise and greater ocean temperatures. This damage can be minimized, and in some cases prevented, through public investment in coastal infrastructure. However, issues associated with property rights and risk perception may make it difficult for government planners to design an effective infrastructure system. Thus, public policy in this area tends to be quite difficult and has resulted in a patchwork of protective measures that have left some coastal areas less protected than they would otherwise be with an integrated system of protections. The coordination policies recommended by traditional economic theory fall short in this case because of a combination of non-linear, spatially-explicit hydrological processes involved in generating the damages caused by storm surge and inundation, as well as possible behavioral inefficiencies due to the complexity of the decision environment. This research uses economic experiments to investigate policy tools for use in coastal infrastructure planning in the case where direct government action is not feasible. This research seeks to identify voluntary mechanisms that can effectively protect coastal areas by creating ?smart? incentive structures sufficient to create integrated coastal protections. Building upon the techniques of experimental economics, mathematical programming, game theory, and hydrologic modeling, this research will address the question, "How can incentive mechanisms be designed to create an effective coastal protection system through voluntary action of coastal landowners?"In the wake of recent large coastal hurricanes, many coastal states have become keenly interested in exploring adaption and implementation strategies for coastal protections. For instance in the mid-Atlantic, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, have all recently established bodies to investigate potential vulnerabilities and adaptation responses to sea level rise. One of the challenges expressed by these agencies is the coordination of responses among independent local authorities and landowners. This research will adapt "Smart Market" techniques that have been successfully applied to address issues in other arenas, such as the development of utility and transportation infrastructure. These approaches can establish a market-like exchange environment, while also accounting for spatial and informational issues that are usually external to traditional markets. By testing alternative policy structures in the experimental economics laboratory with human participants and direct financial incentives, this research will provide key insights into the question of what policies will be most effective in coordinating local decision makers given the physical and environmental dynamic of storm surges and sea level rise in coastal areas.