Research

Working Papers

• The Economic Benefits of Water Rights Adjudication: Evidence from Agricultural Land Sales in Western States (JMP) Link to PDF

Presented at AERE Summer Meeting (2025), AAEA Summer Conference (2025), Social Cost of Water Pollution Workshop (2025), Heartland Environmental and Resource Economics Workshop (2025), UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies (2025)

Abstract Water is an increasingly scarce resource, especially in the Western U.S., but efficient water management is complicated by incomplete private water rights. Some states have adopted a water rights adjudication process to establish clearer and more enforceable rights. Despite its potential economic and environmental benefits, empirical evidence on the impacts of water rights adjudication remains limited. In this paper, I examine the effects of irrigation water rights adjudication on agricultural markets in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Using administrative records, remote sensing data, and land sales transactions, I estimate the effects of adjudication on land values through a hedonic event study framework. The results indicate an increase in agricultural land values following adjudication, although the effects vary across different types of water rights holders, such as downstream versus upstream and senior versus junior rights holders. Adjudication also affects the dynamics of land markets by facilitating land transactions and changing the composition of land transactions, thereby facilitating the reallocation of water rights attached to land. Moreover, I find evidence that adjudication enhances efficiency by improving water utilization and land productivity. These findings have implications for the governance of private rights to natural resources.

• The Effects of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program on Water Quality: Evidence from Wisconsin (Under Review) Link to PDF

Presented at Social Cost of Water Pollution Workshop (2024), APPAM (2024), AERE@SEA (2024), Big Sky Workshop (2025), Camp Resources XXXI (2025)

Abstract: Non-point source pollution remains a leading cause of water quality issues in the U.S. Nearly half of the country's rivers and streams experience increasing levels of phosphorus and nitrogen, which pose significant threats to aquatic ecosystems and human health. Agriculture is the largest contributor to this pollution. As part of efforts to address this issue, the U.S. has invested billions of dollars annually in voluntary conservation programs that incentivize farmers to retire cropland, yet empirical evidence on their effectiveness remains limited. In this paper, I examine the impact of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) on water quality in Wisconsin, using data from over 14,000 water quality monitoring stations and nearly three decades of CREP contract data. To estimate the causal effects of CREP on downstream water quality, I employ a triple-difference framework and find that CREP significantly reduces downstream nitrate, though it has no clear effects on others. I also find that nitrate effects tend to be more localized, observed in water closer to where conservation practices are installed. The treatment effects also differ depending on soil characteristics, growing season, and local weather conditions. These findings contribute new evidence on the environmental benefits of targeted conservation programs and offer insights for improving the cost-effectiveness of non-point source pollution policy.

• Science and Subjectivity in Academic Research on the Environment  with Dominic Parker (draft coming soon)

[PolicyEd] [Preview]

Abstract: Objective science aims to uncover truths about environmental conditions including those related to emission trends, biodiversity loss, climate change and their economic costs. When and why do scientists use subjective language to describe these conditions with bias, emotion, or advocacy?  To shed light, we study determinants and trends in subjective language use within over 180,000 peer-reviewed articles published since 1990 in top science and economics journals. Using machine learning to label and score abstract wording by subjectivity, we find subjective language is more prevalent in articles focused on environmental topics in both science and economics articles. Though average subjectivity is higher in environmental science articles, subjectivity has been trending up in environmental economics. After controlling for factors such as article age, author experience, number of authors, and journal quality, higher subjectivity scores associate positively with future academic citations in both science and economics, especially if the article is focused on an environmental topic. These findings suggest subjective language has been rewarded in the academy.

Selected Work in Progress

• Land Fragmentation and Deepening Groundwater Crisis with Dominic Parker

Pre-doctoral Publications

• Nguyen, H. T., Luu, H. N., and Do, N. H. (2021). The dynamic relationship between greenfield investments, cross-border M&As, domestic investment, and economic growth in Vietnam. Economic Change and Restructuring, 54(4), 1065–1089.

• Do, N. H., and Le, A. L. (2020). Nonlinear Dynamics of Cournot Competition in Carbon Emission Trading Market. ICFE 2020, p. 499.