Robert Johnston

Curriculum vita

Current Research Interests

Professor Johnston's research interests include the valuation of non-market resources and ecosystem services, benefit transfer and meta-analysis, management of aquatic resources, land preservation, and tourism economics. His recent research projects address such topics as the economic value of farmland preservation, the use of meta-analysis for non-market benefit transfer, and the coordination of economic and ecological models to evaluate aquatic ecosystem restoration. In addition to his grant-funded research, he works closely with international organizations, government agencies and non-profit organizations to assist in the appropriate use of economic information to guide environmental and natural resource policy development.

Selected Publications

Johnston, R.J., D.S. Holland and S. Tuler. 2010.  Groundfish Sectors and Amendment 16:  Prospects and Uncertainties for New England Fishing Communities.  Communities and Banking, in press.

Johnston, R.J., and P.J. Thomassin.  2010.  Willingness to Pay for Water Quality Improvement in the United States and Canada:  Considering Possibilities for International Meta-Analysis and Benefit Transfer.  Agricultural and Resource Econoimcs Review. 39(1), in press.

Moeltner, K., R.J. Johnston, R.S. Rosenberger and J.M. Duke.  2009.  Benefit Transfer from Multiple Contingent Experiments:  A Flexible Two-Step Model Combining Individual Choice Data with Community Characteristics.  American Journal of Agricultural Economics 91(5), in press.

Johnston, R.J. and J.M. Duke.  2009.  Informing Preservation of Multifunctional Agriculture when Primary Reserach is Unavailable:  An Application of Meta-Analysis.  American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 91(5), in press.

Johnston, R.J. and R.S. Rosenberger  2009.  Methods, Trends and Controversies in Contemporary Benefit Transfer.  Journal of Economic Surveys, available online, doi:10.1111/j.1467-6419.2009.00592.x.  Print version in press.

Tyrrell, T.J. and R.J. Johnston. In press. An Econometric Analysis of the Effects of Tourism Growth on Municipal Revenues and Expenditures. Tourism Economics.

Chapman, J>I., R.J. Johnston and T.J. Tyrrell.  2009.  Implications of a Land Value Tax with Error in Assessed Values.  Land Economics. 85(4): 576-586.

Johnston, R.J. and P.J. Thomassin.  2009.  Evaluating the Environmental Valuation Reference Inventory (EVRI):  Results from a Survey of Actual and Potential Users.  AERE (Association of Environmental and Resource Economics) Newsletter.  29(1), 33-38.

Rosenberger, R.S. and R.J. Johnston. In press. Selection Effects in Meta-Analysis and Benefit Transfer: Avoiding Unintended Consequences. Land Economics, 85(3):410-428.

Stapler, R.W. and R.J. Johnston. In press. Meta-Analysis, Benefit Transfer, and Methodological Covariates: Implications for Transfer Error. Environmental and Resource Economics, 42(2): 227-246.

Johnston, R.J. and J.M. Duke. In press. Willingness to Pay for Land Preservation Across States and Jurisdictional Scale: Implications for Benefit Transfer. Land Economics, 85(2): 217-237.

Duke, J.M. and R.J. Johnston.  2009.  Nonmarket Valuation of Multifunctional Farm and Forest Preservation in:  Goetz, S. and Brouwer, F., (Eds.) New Perspectives on Agri-Environmental Policies: A Multidisciplinary and Transatlantic Approach.  Oxford, UK, Routledge Publishers, in press.

Johnston, R.J. and E.Y. Besedin. 2009.  Benefits Transfer and Meta-Analysis:  Estimating Willingness to Pay for Aquatic Resource Improvements, Chapter 7 in Thurston, H.W., M.T. Heberling and A. Schrecongost, eds.  Environmental Economics for Watershed Restoration.  CRC Press, Taylor and Fransic Group.

Johnston, R.J. and J.M. Duke. 2008. Benefit Transfer Equivalence Tests with Non-Normal Distributions. Environmental and Resource Economics 41 no. 1: 1-23. doi: 10.1007/s10640-007-9172-x.

Tyrrell, T.J. and R.J. Johnston. 2008. Tourism Sustainability, Resiliency and Dynamics: Towards a More Comprehensive Perspective. Tourism and Hospitality Research 8 no. 1: 14-24, doi:10.1057/thr.2008.8.

Johnston, R.J. 2008. Fish Ecolabels and Consumer Choice: Weighing the Factors. CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources 3 no. 26, doi 10.1079/PAVSNNR20083026.

Duke, J.M. and R.J. Johnston. In press. Multifunctionality and Land Use Policy: An Application of Nonmarket Valuation to Urban Fringe Farm and Forest Preservation. In New Perspectives on Agri-Environmental Policies: A Multidisciplinary and Transatlantic Approach, eds. S. Goetz and F. Brouwer. Oxford, UK, Routledge Publishers.