52nd AARES Conference
Canberra, ACT, 6-8 February 2008
Plenary and Invited Papers
Below is a list of invited papers. Copies of these papers may be available from
AgEcon Search, or you can go directly to a list of all 2008 conference papers
here.
Opening Plenary Session
| Marca Weinberg, US Department of Agriculture | |
Presidential Address
| Allan Rae, Massey University, NZ | China's Agriculture and Trade: Driven by the Livestock Revolution? |
Distinguished Fellows John Dillon Address
| Jean-Paul Chavas, University of Wisconsin, USA | |
Invited Speaker Session on "International Trade and Agricultural Policy"
| Kym Anderson, University of Adelaide | |
| John Beghin, Iowa State University, USA | |
Invited Speaker Session on "Water and the Environment"
| Quentin Grafton, Australian National University | |
| Cathy Kling, Iowa State University | |
Invited Speaker Session on "Research and Development Policy"
| John Kerin, former Minister for Primary Industries and Energy (1983-91) | |
| Mike Woods, Productivity Commission | |
Invited Speaker Session on "Emissions Trading"
| Flavio Menezes, University of Queensland | |
| Lata Ganghadaran, University of Melbourne | |
Contributed Papers
Copies of contributed papers may be available by searching
AgEcon Search, or you can go directly to a list of all 2008 conference papers
here.
Pre-conference Workshops
Climate Change: Issues and Challenges for the Economy and Society
This workshop will showcase recent analysis on the potential impacts of climate change on key sectors and communities in Australia's economy and the costs and benefits of reducing these impacts through mitigation, adaptation and productivity improvements.
Key themes for discussion at the workshop include:
The economics of climate change - managing the risks
Role and scope of renewable and cleaner energy
Health impacts of climate change - implications for productivity, employment and government spending
Climate challenges for tourism and aviation
Rural industries - maintaining productivity in a changing climate
Agriculture - adapting to changes in climate
The contribution of science in economic analysis of climate change
Determining the optimal climate change policy response - a framework for analysis: the role of Integrated Assessment Modelling
Panel discussion - moving forward, insights for policy makers and practitioners
The workshop aims to engage economists, scientists, academics, policy makers and other interested parties in order to foster multi-faceted and multidisciplinary interactions. This workshop has great potential to progress thinking on the forward framework for climate change analysis and policy.
Key contributors include: Professor Ross Garnaut (ANU and Garnaut Review), Chris Mitchell (CSIRO), Professor Tony McMichael (ANU), Professor Peter Forsyth (Monash University), Mick Keogh (Australian Farm Institute), John Mullen (NSW Department of Primary Industries) and Dr. Don Gunasekera (ABARE).
Experimental Economics
An introduction to experimental economics for environmental and resource economists
This workshop will introduce the discipline of experimental economics and demonstrate its utility as a research tool for environmental and resource economics. It combines discussions of experimental economics and the design of environmental markets with hands-on demonstrations of various market institutions using experimental software developed by the Aton Experimental Economics Lab. Topics covered will include experimental methods, basic market institutions, renewable energy markets and conservation tenders
The presenters have a broad range of experience in the application of experimental methods both for academic research and to inform the design of environmental policy:
Dr Karel Nolles, Director of the Aton Experimental Economics Laboratory
Prior to setting up his own experimental economics facility, Karel has been a senior research fellow in the UNSW Centre for Energy & Environmental Markets, a visiting research fellow in the Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science (George Mason University) and environmental markets manager for the Australian Financial Markets Association
Dr Andrew Reeson, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
Environmental economist who has been designing and running experiments addressing ecological and economic questions for over ten years. His current research includes applying experiments to a range of environmental policy issues, from designing market-based instruments to promoting socially motivated environmental volunteerism.
This workshop is supported by the ARC Economic Design Network, Aton Experimental Economics Laboratory and CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems.
Real Options: What and Why But Mostly How?
The objectives of this workshop are to introduce real options as a method for managing natural systems under risk, explain how real options relate to other methods for making decisions under risk and give participants practice in formulating and solving real options problems. The workshop will have mini-lectures interspersed with pencil and paper exercises and computer exercises.
Topics to be discussed are:
Real options in the real world
Horticulture and irrigation
Tactical fertiliser applications
Decision diagrams for real options
Pencil and paper exercises
Mathematical methods for real options
The calculus of real options
Yield index insurance revisited
The workshop programme is designed to be as interactive as possible so numbers may be limited. Participants are asked to bring a laptop with Microsoft Excel installed. Presenters include Greg Hertzler (UWA) and Peter Hayman (SARDI).