Kalinin, A. V., Sims, K. R. E., Meyer, S. R., Thompson, J. R. 2023. Does land conservation raise property taxes? Evidence from New England cities and towns. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. Vol 119: 102782 2-Page Summary For ungated manuscript, click here
Rissman A, AW Morris, A Kalinin, PA Kohl, D.P. Parker, and O Selles. (2019) "Private organizations, public data: Land trust choices about mapping conservation easements." Land Use Policy (89):104221
Kalinin A, T Covino, and B McGlynn. (2016) "The Influence of an In-Network Lake on the Timing, Form, and Magnitude of Downstream Dissolved Organic Carbon and Nutrient Flux." Water Resources Research 52:(11) 8668-8684
Kalinin A, J Husebye, A Brunsvold, and S Roussanaly. (2012) "CCS Chain Capacity Selection for Flexible Load Power Plant." Energy Procedia. 23: 343-353
Brunsvold A, JP Jakobsen, J Husebye, and A Kalinin. (2011) "Case Studies on CO2 Transport Infrastructure: Optimization of Pipeline Network, Effect of Ownership, and Political Incentives." Energy Procedia. 4: 3024-3031
What’s Mine is Yours: Transboundary Pollution from Abandoned Coal Mines
Authors: Alexey Kalinin
Abstract: Decentralization of pollution abatement can improve local environmental, health and economic outcomes by letting jurisdictions take advantage of local information and make decisions that reflect local preferences. At the same time it creates incentives to ignore transboundary spillovers. In this paper I investigate whether state regulators in the US down-weight water quality benefits to neighboring states when prioritizing abandoned coal mines for reclamation. I address this question in two stages. First, I establish whether mine reclamation affects water quality and the distance downstream at which this effect is observable. Then I examine the political economy dimension by testing whether mines are less likely to be reclaimed near state borders. I study this question in the context of the 1977 Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act which funded state mine reclamation efforts. I find that mine reclamation generates water quality benefits that persist for up to three hundred kilometers downstream. I observe that mines are more likely to be reclaimed further upstream from state borders. A standard deviation increase in mine distance from a state border, raises the probability of reclamation by an average of 6 \% relative to a baseline probability of reclamation of 0.55. Additionally, I find that regulators give out-of-state people approximately half the weight of in-state people in prioritizing mines for reclamation. This paper contributes to the environmental federalism literature by shedding light on regulator behavior that leads to declining environmental conditions near borders. My findings also suggest that environmental benefits from reclamation may be far reaching and welfare effects of reclamation should be examined at a regional level beyond the 0.5 miles radius at which beneficiaries are currently counted.
Effects of Local Regulation on Neighboring Jurisdictions: Evidence from Mining Ordinances. Alexey Kalinin, Dominic Parker, Dan Phaneuf.
A natural resource boom can be rapid and unexpected, with narrow geographic focus. As such it brings costs and benefits. It brings economic opportunities but also disamenties that local regulators are initially ill equipped to manage. When regulatory authority lies at the local level, solutions for externalities can emerge, sometimes with unexpected consequences for the broader population. We study the economic outcomes of a regional ‘frac sand’ mining boom in Wisconsin and the local regulation that emerged in response. The boom began around 2010 and was induced by the hydraulic fracturing surge across the U.S. We exploit a 2012 state Supreme Court ruling, permitting township-level mining ordinances, to study the effects of local regulation on mining activity, resident exposure to disamenities, property values and local government fiscal outcomes.
Impacts of Working Forest Easements on Forest Conditions and Harvesting Practice. With co-authors from Harvard Forest and Amherst College
In this paper, we examine the impact of working forest easements on timber harvest and forest loss in the state of Maine, which has experienced rapid growth in land conserved through working forest easements. In 1990, just six percent of Maine was conserved and 80 percent of that was public land. By 2020, 22 percent of Maine was conserved and 70 percent of that was in large working forest easements. We use an annual time series of remotely sensed data to quantify the rates and patterns of forest loss and harvesting.
Impacts of Land Protection on Ecological Outcomes, Evidence from the Forest Inventory and Analysis. With co-authors from Harvard Forest and Amherst College.
This study seeks to examine the impact of land protection on forest conditions in New England using plot level data from the U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis program.
Self-Regulation in the Non-Profit Sector: The Case of Land Trusts. Alexey Kalinin, Dominic Parker, and Qian Yao.
We study the voluntary, self-regulation of nonprofit organizations (NGOs) through certification programs in the context of private conservation by over 1,600 land trusts in the US. We propose a theoretical framework for understanding the selection of land trusts into an accreditation program run by the Land Trust Alliance, and then empirically examine the effects of accreditation on future cash and easement donations to high and low quality trusts.