The Economic Value of Iowa’s Natural Resources Daniel Otto, Dan Monchuk, Kanlaya Jintanakul, and Catherine Kling Department of Economics ISU Extension Center for Agricultural and Rural Development College of Agriculture Iowa State University Commissioned by the Sustainable Funding for Natural Resources Study Committee, Iowa General Assembly December, 2007 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Daniel Otto and Catherine Kling are Professors in the Department of Economics at Iowa State University, Dan Monchuk is currently an Assistant Professor of Economics at Southern Mississippi University and a former graduate student at Iowa State University, and Kanlaya Jintanakul is a graduate student in the Department of Economics at Iowa State University. Numerous individuals assisted in the preparation of this report. The authors particularly appreciate the assistance we received from Peter Fritzwell and Doug Harr who in turn leveraged the support of many others for acquiring information in a timely manner. The authors also appreciate the professional editorial and production assistance from Sandy Oberbroeckling and Becky Olson who helped make this document presentable. If you have questions or comments regarding this report, please contact: Daniel Otto Email:
[email protected] Telephone: 515-294-6147 Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................... i Introduction.............................................................................................................. 1 A Framework