Micro-Behavioral Economics of Global Warming: Modeling Adaptation Strategies in Agricultural and Natural Resource Enterprises (Advances in Global Change Research Book 60)

This book presents a foundation for studying the micro-behavioral economics of global warming. The author develops an empirical model, named the Geographically-scaled Micro econometric model of Adapting Portfolios (G-MAP) in response to climatic changes and risks. The G-MAP model is applied to observed decisions of agricultural and natural resource enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. The author describes the five applications of the model: the G-MAP animal species, the G-MAP agricultural systems, the G-MAP natural resource enterprises, the G-MAP climate risk, and the G-MAP public adaptations. The micro-behavioral economics of global warming and the G-MAP models are evaluated against the three alternative modeling traditions: The first is the Agro-Economic Models (AEM) based on crop simulations of selected crops under elevated CO2 conditions; The second is a family of econometric studies of grain yield changes caused by yearly weather fluctuations; The third is the Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) method hinged crucially on the AEZ classifications of ecosystems. The author offers a refreshing look at the traditional economics of global warming, unraveling a broad array of adaptation strategies adopted by managers of agricultural and natural resource enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. The book demonstrates that the micro-behavioral economics dynamically integrates multiple disciplines in a cohesive way - including economics, psychology, climate science, ecosystem studies, agronomy and animal science - into the decision-making framework of an individual agent. The G-MAP models provide a guide map of adaptation strategies for the humanity’s enduring journey of battling global climatic changes in this century and beyond. This book presents a foundation for studying the micro-behavioral economics of global warming. The author develops an empirical model, named the Geographically-scaled Microeconometric model of Adapting Portfolios (G-MAP) in response to climatic changes and risks. The G-MAP model is applied to observed decisions of agricultural and natural resource enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. The author describes the five applications of the model: the G-MAP animal species, the G-MAP agricultural systems, the G-MAP natural resource enterprises, the G-MAP climate risk, and the G-MAP public adaptations. The micro-behavioral economics of global warming and the G-MAP models are evaluated against the three alternative modeling traditions:℗l The first is the Agro-Economic Models (AEM) based on crop simulations of selected crops under elevated CO2 conditions; The second is a family of econometric studies of grain yield changes caused by yearly weather fluctuations; The third is the Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) method hinged crucially on the AEZ classifications of ecosystems. The author offers a refreshing look at the traditional economics of global warming, unraveling a broad array of adaptation strategies adopted by managers of agricultural and natural resource enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. The book demonstrates that the micro-behavioral economics dynamically integrates multiple disciplines in a cohesive way - including economics, psychology, climate science, ecosystem studies, agronomy, and animal science - into the decision-making framework of an individual agent. The G-MAP models provide a guide map of adaptation strategies for the humanityĺls enduring journey of battling global climatic changes in this century and beyond Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction to the Micro-behavioral Economics of Global Warming....Pages 1-10 The Theory of the Micro-behavioral Economics of Global Warming....Pages 11-28 The G-MAP Models: Major Findings....Pages 29-47 Agro-economic Models: Theory and Major Findings....Pages 49-58 Econometric Models of Yield Changes with Weather Shocks....Pages 59-66 Micro-behavioral Decisions and Ecosystem Changes: A Multidisciplinary Integrated Framework....Pages 67-79 Wading into the Century of Global Warming and Adaptation Strategies....Pages 81-93 Back Matter....Pages 95-102