Benefit-Cost Analysis of Municipal Dutch Elm Disease Control Programs in Colorado

Abstract

Dutch elm disease is a serious problem for many municipalities throughout the United States. Several disease control alternatives have been applied to help reduce elm losses, but seldom have the economic costs and benefits been addressed. A benefit-cost methodology is presented which can be used to analyze the economic efficiency of control alternatives. The approach is developed and then applied to selected municipalities in Colorado. The results indicate that the methodology can be easily applied and that, given the application here, benefits of certain Dutch elm disease control alternatives exceed the costs.