Organizational Unit:

School of Public Policy

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https://hdl.handle.net/1853/70716

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Organizational Unit

Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts

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Organizational Unit

Technology Policy and Assessment Center

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https://finding-aids.library.gatech.edu/agents/corporate_entities/1033

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Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 21

Sustainable transitions in energy and water systems

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-08-24) Burkhard, Caroline

A Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) of Sustainable Transitions is applied to five case studies of technological and policy innovation in energy and water systems. The MLP framework analysis is supported by the policy and engineering literatures of participatory democracy, policy entrepreneurs, and system analysis. Each case study focuses on the subsystems of actors, policy institutions, and public participation in a sustainable transition. In three of the case studies, I develop system and econometric models to evaluate the value of distributed resources and their opportunities for deployment. When evaluating the actions on niche and intermediary actors and their strategies for sustainable transitions, this research suggests that scale may play a bigger role in the development of niche innovations and policies than simply an exploratory space to analyze the success of actors’ strategies. When evaluating the role of policy institutions, this research suggests that strong user preferences, supportive niche policies, and favorable economic landscapes can be insufficient to facilitate a regime change without qualitative changes to the regulatory models. When evaluating the role of the public, this research suggests that neither the niche nor the regime actors are consistently incorporating public participation. Combined, this dissertation speaks to the need for rigorous analytical work, the expansion of the definition of ‘value’ for these niche technologies, as well as the institutions and regulations which dictate how value is determined.
Policy entrepreneurs, windows, and cycles: Exploring policy change through bicycle infrastructure at the municipal level

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-03-30) Weber, Johann C.

Although bicycling has been the subject of increasing academic attention, particularly in the areas of mode choice, benefit analyses, and discussions of policies/treatments, much less attention has been devoted to actually studying how communities have made decisions about whether and what they’ll implement in regards to bicycle infrastructure. “Policy entrepreneurs” are theorized as actors centrally responsible for either creating an opportunity or capitalizing on an opportunity to pair a public problem with a policy solution. A survey instrument solicited directly the participation of the 200 most populous municipalities within the United States. Using a variety of analytical tools (and merged data sources) as well as a novel matching methodology for the selection of case studies, it was possible to identify interesting and broadly informative relationships, which were explored further via the case study comparison. 20 case interviews were conducted across 6 case study cities as a complement to the survey project. Individual policy entrepreneurs and their role or qualities were not significant quantitatively or qualitatively, despite being regularly present. However, having a network of supportive actors (including strong champions/policy entrepreneurs) played a critical role in making projects happen and at larger scales. Advocates and planners may be more successful by being attuned to these networks and political contexts and taking advantage of open “windows” of engagement. Alternatively, these windows can be opened ‘manually’ through grant applications, developing relationships, hosting trainings or speakers, and more. Lastly, city population was also associated with implementation, suggesting underlying factors to be explored in the future.
Examining the representativeness of Georgia's state water plan

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010-11-18) Marshall, Amanda Christine

This thesis provides an analysis of the Georgia statewide regional water planning process; a system deemed to be operating in the adaptive management framework. The principal focus of this analysis is to detail a novel paradigm capable of dynamic response to changing resource demands which stems from adaptive management principles and ensures representativeness. The paradigm extends directly from application of the theories of bounded rationality and adaptive management. Development of the framework is accomplished through application of theory and correlated empirical analysis. Extreme drought conditions signal a punctuated-equilibrium effecting statewide water resource management which in turn drives the issuance of an executive-level directive to prioritize and effectively manage critical state water resources. This study evolves directly from analysis of the current effort to establish unified regional water plans which address rapid population growth, and escalating water resource conflicts with Alabama and Florida while satisfying priorities established within the executive directive. Fundamental to this analysis is the survey of currently seated regional water planning council members. The essential function of the survey is to provide a qualitative assessment of the perceptions of appointed council members. These perceptions influence water management techniques prescribed by the final policy. While this is a fuzzy correlation, a primary function of this analysis is to quantify the strength of correlation between perceptions and developed policy. This survey details appointed council member attitudes and attributes and affords analysis of future decision making outcomes. The method prescribed herein unifies multi-level decision making processes under a dynamic adaptive management paradigm, and is intended to link the regional water planning processes with continuous annual assessment in order to achieve the pluralistic benefits of adaptive management decision making.
Evaluating the impacts of partnership: an electronic panel study of partnering and the potential for adaptive management

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-08-21) Waschak, Michael R.

There has been an increase in the use of partnerships as a policy prescription for improving education since the mid 1980's. This trend builds on nearly a century of reform movements in education. In order to improve education policy, this study focuses on the question of whether math and science education partnerships as typically constituted provide the necessary conditions for the adaptive management (sustainable and adaptable action) of local education problems by the participants. This qualitative study uses data derived from the views of 32 experts on math and science partnerships collected during an internet-based application of the Delphi methodology designed to develop testable elements of a logic model of partnerships in math and science education. The results of this study suggest that the implementation and content requirements built into grant programs that include partners as a condition in aid most often result in a narrow programmatic focus among the participants. Organizations choose to participate in disjointed serial interventions that support organizational needs or goals based on the availability of funding and partners for particular programmatic activities. They choose partners from among those who are interested in similar or complementary activities. The primary focus of STEM education partnerships is therefore on implementing and sometimes evaluating the funded programmatic activities and not on building a broader learning community. Activities or education problems that are not funded tend to be excluded from the activities and dialog of the policy-induced partnership. By limiting the scope of the collaboration we are limiting the potential for adaptive management and the value of these partnerships.
The value of Fijian coral reefs by nonusers: a contingent valuation study to investigate willingness-to-pay for conservation, understand scale/magnitude of reef problems and provide tools for practitioners

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-07-06) Fonseca, Carolyn E.

A contingent valuation study was done to investigate the value of Fijian reefs by households in the Metro Atlanta area. Individuals were surveyed and asked questions about their Willingness-to-Pay for coral reef conservation, personal views on the scope/magnitude of coral reef problems, and experience around ocean related activities as well as knowledge. Results from this data, find individuals would donate on average $0.18 taking into account sample and response bias. Less conservative estimates calculated contributions per person to equal $13.9 for the conservation of Fijian reefs. These results imply Atlanta, which is very distant from Fiji, has the potential to contribute to Fijian coral reef conservation programs. Although little empirical work exists on valuation measure for reefs of non-users and groups distant to reefs, this study suggests nonprofits and developing countries could benefit from the inclusion or previously excluded (due to distance to reefs) participants. The study discusses donor characteristics as well as possible market strategies these organizations could utilize to maximize revenue. Findings from this work highlight two important issues rarely discussed in the policy literature: 1-the use of non-market valuation methods to identify stakeholders and 2-the effects of distance on use and non-use value ultimately impacting conservation.
Making space for environmental problem solving: a study of the role of "place" in boundary choices using Georgia's statewide planning process as a case

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-11-17) Hirsch, Paul Devin

In this dissertation, the concept of "problem bounding," argued by Bryan Norton and colleagues to be an important but understudied aspect of environmental problem solving, is operationalized and empirically investigated. The empirical part of the work involves participant observation and survey research on how diverse individuals – all of whom were invited by a state agency to advise the development of an institutional framework for statewide water planning – engaged in problem bounding both conceptually and in their choice of a spatial structure for ongoing water management. My particular focus is on the multiple ways in which the "place" an individual views the problem from shapes the way they engage in problem bounding. Although more research is needed and there are significant limitations to the data, my findings indicate that place – particularly in terms of location on an upstream/downstream continuum and rural/urban self-identification – does play a role in problem bounding. The dissertation concludes with a review and discussion of the major findings, and implications for the development of institutional frameworks that are both responsive to ecological dynamics and representative of the relevant public(s).
Meta-Analysis of Environmental Valuation Studies

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004-11-21) Gen, Sheldon

Cost-benefit analysis has long been a dominant method of policy analysis. When applied to policies affecting the environment, however, it faced a serious problem. Many policies exert environmental impacts that are external to market transactions, so the values of these impacts resist monetary measurement. This shortcoming in cost-benefit analysis led some researchers to develop indirect and nonmarket methods of valuing environmental goods monetarily. They include the travel cost method, hedonic pricing, and contingent valuation. The popularity of these methods has grown since their inceptions, but so have controversies over their use. Economists and others have taken all sides of the debate over the validity of the methods and their normative implications. These methods popularity and controversies necessitate their critical evaluation. This research fills this need through an extensive meta-analysis of 228 existing environmental valuation studies representing the contemporary practices in each method, and capturing varieties of environmental goods and settings. The analysis tested the convergent validity of the three valuation methods, and measured the moderating effects of select variables. The results show that effect sizes of the hedonic pricing and travel cost methods converge, but contingent valuation produces effect sizes that average 40% to 55% less than the other two methods. This difference varies significantly with the environment good being valued. Other significant moderating variables include the magnitude of the environmental change, the description of the change, and the location of the study. The year of study does not significantly moderate effect sizes. These results supplement descriptive and normative frameworks for environmental valuation described by Barbier (1994), Navrud and Pruckner (1997), and Norton (1995). When the evidence and these frameworks are considered together, the defensible uses of these three valuation methods become very limited. Valuation efforts should focus on multiple dimensions of environmental value, besides economic dimensions, that reflect ecological health and public concerns for the environment.
Cooperative and non-cooperative decision behaviors in response to the inspection and maintenance program in the Atlanta Airshed, 1997-2001

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004-07-12) Zia, Asim

When confronted with decisions involving the provision of environmental resources, such as clean air, do individuals act cooperatively with societal regulations? This study employs a quasi-experimental design to investigate the cooperative and non-cooperative actions of high-emitting vehicle owners that arose in response to the Inspection and Maintenance (IM) program in the Atlanta airshed. The impact of cooperative and non-cooperative actions of high-emitters on vehicular tail-pipe emissions, such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), is quantified. Furthermore, the hypothesis that high-emitters have significantly higher odds of residing in lower income neighborhoods as compared to the normal emitters is also tested. A remote sensing sample of approximately 1.42 million vehicles observed on-road between 1997 and 2001 is matched with IM program data and vehicle registration data to identify the cooperative and non-cooperative high-emitters. A mixed-pool time-series regression analysis is undertaken to estimate changes in vehicular tail-pipe emissions due to the actions of high-emitters. The information about the socio-economic and demographic contextual conditions of the sampled vehicle owners is ascertained from 2000 census data. Approximately 42% of the high-emitting vehicle owners are found to be cooperative and 58% non-cooperative. The cooperative actions caused a decrease of 47% in HC emission factors during 1997 and 2001. There is no statistical difference between the CO and NO emission factors of vehicles owned by cooperative and non-cooperative high-emitters. Results also suggest that the high-emitters live in 4.4% lower median household income areas as compared to the normal emitters in the Atlanta airshed. Changes in the current IM program rules and vehicle registration laws could improve air quality. Such changes include disallowing IM test failures from registering anywhere in the state of Georgia and requiring an IM test on every change of vehicle ownership inside the IM program area. Better incentive mechanisms for high-emitters can also be designed. The evidence from this study is expected to aid policy-makers to adapt the incentive mechanisms of IM programs, in particular, and environmental regulations, in general, so that public policies are both more effective and equitable in their societal impacts.
A Comprehensive Methodology for Measuring Costs and Benefits of Critical Habitat Designation Under the Endangered Species Act

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2003-12-01) Slack, John Taylor

In recent years, critical habitat has been subject to a great deal of controversy and numerous lawsuits. Critical habitat is an integral part of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that serves not only to protect the species and its habitat but may also help the recovery of the species. Critical habitat has been the subject of a large number of recent lawsuits. These lawsuits arise from conservation groups, forcing the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to designate critical habitat and from developmental groups, claiming that the economic analyses used by the FWS during the designation of critical habitat are faulty. The economic analyses that are currently being done by the FWS are quantifying the costs of critical habitat to the extent possible while virtually making no effort to quantify the benefits of critical habitat. This potentially biased economic analysis can skew public opinion by presenting an unbalanced result from the analysis. Therefore, this thesis presents a methodology for comprehensively identifying and quantifying, where possible, the costs and benefits of critical habitat.
Public values and spatio- temporal scales of logging : a case study of citizens and experts in the Chattahoochee National Forest

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2002-08) Corley, Elizabeth Ann