REGSA Graduate Student Conference

Agriculture and the Environment: Uniting Social and Economic Research

Graduate Student

Conference

Edmonton, AlbertaNovember 2 - 4, 2007

Agriculture and the Environment: Uniting Social and Economic Research

Dear Conference Participants,

Welcome to Agriculture and the Environment: Uniting Social and Economic Research. In planning this conference, we had two primary objectives. Our first goal was to be trendsetters. This is Canada’s inaugural graduate student conference for social sciences whose main focus is on nature and its resources. We hope that it will become a regular event. It is a great opportunity for graduate students to showcase their research and meet their colleagues. Our second objective is to try and break disciplinary boundaries. Too frequently conferences prevent the mixing of different research agendas. In many of our sessions, we deliberately combined distinct research approaches. We encourage you to peruse the program and, perhaps, attend a session which is outside your ordinary research programme.

Conference Highlights:• Registration desk – conference participants can pickup their packages at the

welcome reception on Friday evening or Saturday morning. The registration desk is in the lobby of the Natural Resource Engineering Facility (NREF).

• Welcome reception – Friday evening, come and meet fellow presenters at the welcome reception which takes place in the lobby of NREF.

• Keynote speaker – following lunch on Saturday, Neal Hooker will be making the keynote speech titled: Organic Food Marketing.

• Feature session – four abstracts were selected to be part of a special feature session. This session is designed to meet the objective of uniting social and economic research on agriculture, forestry and the environment.

• Award presentations and reception – come see who won the awards for best poster and presentation at reception held in Dewey’s Lounge at the Powerplant.

• Panel discussion – is there life post-degree? Come eat breakfast and search for the answer to this question at Sunday mornings’ informal panel discussion.

• Economic experiment – take an opportunity to learn about and participate in cutting-edge, transdisciplinary research.

We will post all PowerPoint presentations on the REGSA website. So, if you want more information following the weekend, please check www.re.ualberta.ca/REGSA. As a conference participant, we hope that you learn something new, meet some interesting fellow graduate students and enjoy yourself.

Sincerely,Conference Organizing Committee

Summary of Conference Schedule November 2-4, 2007

November 3, 2007

November 2, 2007

November 4, 2007

Natural Resources Engineering Facility - Foyer

18:00-20:00 Registration and Welcome Social Event (cash bar)

Natural Resources Engineering Facility (Room 1-003)

9:30 -10:30 Breakfast with Panel: Is there life post-degree?

10:30 – 12:00 Vanguard Research: Experimental Economics

7:30-8:30 Breakfast (NREF – Foyer)

Natural Resources Engineering Facility Room 1-003

Natural Resources Engineering Facility Room 1-001

8:30 -10:00 Session 1: Sustainability in Rural Environments

Session 1: Relationship of Government Policy to Agricultural and Food Markets

10:00-10:15 COFEE BREAK

10:15-11:45 Session 2: Liquor, Cows and Veggies

Session 2: Future Issues Facing Industry, Energy and Agriculture

11:45-12:45 LUNCH

12:45-13:30 Keynote Address: Dr. Neal Hooker, Ohio State University

13:30-14:30 Poster Viewing and Judging

14:30-16:00 Session 3: Culture, Agriculture and Forestry

Session 3: Applying New Methods to Environmental Economic Research

16:00-17:30 Feature Session: Uniting Social and Economic Research: Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment

19:00-21:00 Reception and Awards (Dewey’s at the Powerplant)

Sustainability in Rural EnvironmentsPaper Presentations

Patricia Macklin, University of Alberta“Envisioning sustainability: Views from a rural Alberta community”

George Kwasi Danso, University of Alberta“Testing for the presence of natural resource curse in Canada”

Blythe McLennan, University of Alberta“Impact of regional economic change on land use patterns in Guanacaste Province in North-West Costa Rica”

Session Chair: Sara O’Shaughnessy Location: Natural Resources Engineering Facility1-003

Paper Presentations

Wenzhao Huang, University of Alberta“Strategic behaviour of firms in the Canadian food industry under government food health policy interventions: Conceptual model”

Yingchun Dai, University of Alberta“Technological progress of agriculture in China: From 1995-2005”

Brooke Fridfinnson, University of Manitoba“The effects of biofuels policy on global commodities”

Session Chair: Marayam ChamanifardLocation: Natural Resources Engineering Facility 1-001

The Relationship of Government Policy to Agricultural and Food Markets

Concurrent Sessions 1: 8:30-10:00

Paper Presentations

Craig Schram, University of Alberta“Media analysis of the BSE crisis”

Ryan Lacanliao, University of Alberta“The relationship between food insecurity and vegetable and fruit consumption in Canada”

Joe Newcomb, Montana State University“Liquor licensing in Montana”

Session Chair: Geoff McCarneyLocation: Natural Resources Engineering Facility 1-003

Paper Presentations

Brian Joubert, University of Alberta“Industrial resource development, environmental change and native hunting culture: a clash of values?”

Brad Dollevoet, University of Alberta“The potential for a tradable green certificate market”

Zoya Komirenko, University of Alberta“Impact of BSE on the farmland value in Alberta: A hedonic approach”

Joey Chow, University of Alberta“Unionization and Wages in Canada”

Session Chair: Steven MatherLocation: Natural Resources Engineering Facility 1-001

Liquor, Cows and Veggies

Future Issues Facing Industry, Energy and Agriculture

Concurrent Sessions 2: 10:15-11:45

Dr. Neal Hooker, Associate ProfessorOhio State University

“Organic Food Marketing”Natural Resources Engineering Facility

Room 1-003Time: 12:45-13:30

Keynote Speaker

Poster Presentations

Poster Viewing and Judging (13:30-14:30 )

Natural Resources Engineering Facility Foyer – Judges:1. Dr. Sven Anders2. Dr. Brenda Parlee3. Dr. James Rude

Poster presenters are encouraged to be at their posters during this period to answer questions from the judges

Culture, Agriculture and Forestry

Applying New Methods to

Environmental Economic ResearchPaper Presentations

Angele Vickers, University of Alberta“Importers and inspectors: The use of agent-based modeling for policy analysis”

Jing Zhang, University of Alberta“A model averaging approach to pooling willingness to pay estimates from different model specifications”

Catalina Solano, University of Alberta“Social preferences for inequality and efficiency: A leaky-bucket experiment”

Session Chair: Tiarella HannaLocation: Natural Resources Engineering Facility 1-001

Paper Presentations

Eva Bogdan, University of Alberta“Urban agriculture for senior immigrants”

Victoria Laidlaw, University of Alberta“Looking for a better life: Rural Mongolian perceptions of quality of life in urban areas”

Kendra Isaac, University of Alberta“Forester opinions on aboriginal and social issues”

Session Chair: Wayne CrosbyLocation: Natural Resources Engineering Facility 1-003

Concurrent Sessions 3: 14:30-16:00

Feature Session Paper Presentations

Jay Anderson, University of Alberta“Determinants of forest preservation: Do plantations promote parks?”

Janelle Mann, University of Manitoba“Testing for market efficiency in the western Canadian canola market”

Gaylene Pridham, University of Alberta“Governance of the commons in North Eastern Alberta: Fort McMurray and Fort McKay, Alberta”

Jason Barton, University of British Columbia“Rural cultural and agriculture in Mexico under NAFTA”

Session Chair: Bryn PolityloLocation: Natural Resources Engineering Facility 1-003

Uniting Social and Economic Research: Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment

Feature Session: 16:00-17:30

Time: 10:30-12:00

Interactive Session“Auctions for Environmental Best Management Practices in Agriculture”

Orsolya PergerResearch AssociateUniversity of Alberta

Time: 9:30-10:30 Panel members

Sandeep MohapatraDepartment of Rural EconomyUniversity of Alberta

Bryce StewartAlberta Department of Energy

Mike KennedyPembina Institute

November 4, 2007 - Natural Resources Engineering Fac ility (1-003)

Breakfast with Panel:Is there life post-degree?

Vanguard Research: Experimental Economics

Amanda Boyd, University of Alberta“Public risk perceptions of BSE & vCJD: An Albertan perspective”

Amanda Dacyk, University of Alberta“At best, a piece of the puzzle: A review of current issues in forest certification literature”

Amy Mannix, University of Alberta“The willingness to pay for Earth Water & the effect of endowment provision using the second price auction method”

Christopher Kruger, University of Alberta“Preferences of community members of characteristics of forest tenures in Canada: An application of the best-worst scaling method”

James Benkie, University of Alberta“Input demand and substitution elasticities for the Western Canadian Livestock industry”

Lukas Matejovsky, University of Alberta“The current state of organic farming and relevant policies in the Czech Republic and the European Union”

Masoomeh Keshavarz, University of Alberta“The impact of working wives on food-away-from-home expenditure”

Quin Chen, University of Manitoba“Dynamic model of Canadian hog supply at the provincial level”

Rawley Heimer, Montana State University“The Economic Value of Diversity in the Knowledge Producing Disciplines”

Ryan Lacanilao, University of Alberta“Fast food outlet density and the incidence of obesity in Canada”

Steven Koeckhoven, University of Alberta“Agricultural best management practices and water quality”

Wei He, University of Saskatchewan“A multi-agent simulation approach to on-farm adjustment to long run climate change in Saskatchewan”

Ximena Amoroso, University of Alberta“Study of the relationship between futures prices and cash prices of canola from Canada and soybean from the United States”

Ximena Amoroso and Brandon Schaufele, University of Alberta“Do food recalls affect how people differentiate between brands of chicken?”

Yulian Ding, University of Alberta“ Consumer choices and food risks”

Poster Presentations