ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY - ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY: A PRODUCTION POSSIBILITY'S FRONTIER ANALYSIS OF NON-POINT POLLUTION CONTROL IN OREGON

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to derive a production possibilities curve illustrating alternative choices of agricultural production and rural environmental quality for the Willow Creek area of the Columbia Plateau in Oregon. The research was done as a supplement to the USDA Oregon Rivers Cooperative River Basin Nonpoint Pollution Study. The dissertation is primarily a methodology which can be expanded to address similar trade-offs between conflicting goals. The study initially presented a methodology for measuring environmental quality. A hierarchical structure was introduced which allowed goals and subgoals to be measured in order of their importance. Linkages among these different goals were also defined. Then a preference function was introduced so that goals could be related to preferences or values. Technical indicators were used to measure how well different practices achieve various goals. Finally a model was developed which maximized the level of environmental quality subject to various profit constraints. The model used mathematical programming to develop a production possibilities frontier giving various choices of economic production and environmental quality.