Land use restrictions for biodiversity protection represent a common approach to conservation policy and affect 8% of U.S. land. Gustafson studies real and financial effects of these restrictions using parcel-level data on land values, transactions, and development over the 2010–2020 period. He documents a biodiversity protection discount of 45% of land value, which emerges after protected areas are created and is accompanied by reductions in liquidity. Evidence suggests that this discount is driven by restrictions to development opportunities, as it is associated with a 30% decline in development rates and is largest in protected areas where development is most limited. He finds little impact of local biodiversity protections on unregulated neighboring plots. His findings highlight economic consequences of U.S. conservation policies and their implications for private asset values.
Bio:
Matthew Gustafson is the Robert and Judith Klein Professor of Finance at Pennsylvania State’s Smeal College of Business. Matthew's research examines topics in corporate finance, financial intermediation, and the economic impacts of the climate and weather. His work has been accepted for publication in leading business journals such as The Journal of Financial Economics, The Journal of Finance, The Journal of Accounting and Economics, Management Science, The Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and The Journal of Public Economics. In addition, he has presented his work at top finance and economics conferences such as the American, Western, and European Finance Associations and the American Economic Association Annual Meetings.
Matthew earned his PhD from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester in June of 2013. While at the Simon School, he taught two core MBA finance classes and was named to the Simon School Teaching Honor Roll. Matthew graduated from Swarthmore College in 2005 with a degree in economics. Before beginning his doctoral studies in 2008 he worked at a financial consulting company, obtained an M.S. in Applied Statistics from Villanova University, and coached basketball at Swarthmore College where he had been team captain in 2005.