The Economic Value of Water and Ecosystem Preservation

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5. The Socio-economic Environment of the San Antonio Bay Region 5.1. County Socio-economic Information This section includes a description of the demographic and economic characteristics of the three counties that surround the San Antonio Bay: Aransas, Calhoun, and Refugio (Figure 5-1). The demographic variables analyzed include: 1. Population Growth; 2. Age Distribution; 3. Ethnicity Distribution; and 4. Educational Attainment. The economic variables analyzed include: 1. Percentage of people of all ages living in poverty; 2. Per capita personal income; 3. Average wage per job; 4. Total number of jobs; and 5. Unemployment Rate. Figure 5-1. San Antonio Bay Source: Cartography by Anne Evans, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, July 2007. Base map data from the Texas General Land Office.
Aransas distinguishes itself from Calhoun and Refugio both demographically and economically. As the fastest growing County analyzed; its population is relatively older and significantly more homogenous than Calhoun’s and Refugio’s. In addition, Aransas has the highest educational attainment of the adult population. Historically, this County had the highest percentage of people living in poverty, until 2004. After 2004, Aransas County showed the greatest decrease in the unemployment rate and it was the only County that experienced an increase in the number of jobs from 2001 to 2005. Aransas Aransas County is located on the Gulf Coast northeast of Corpus Christi. It is the most populated and the fastest growing county in the San Antonio Bay area. The population grew more than 25 percent per decade from 1980 to 2000, with the last six years experiencing accelerated growth. From 2000 to 2006, the population increased from 22,497 to 24,831 inhabitants, a growth rate of just over 10 percent (Table 5-1). The age distribution indicates that Aransas County’s population is relatively older than the State’s and the other counties analyzed for this report. This is simply explained by the fact that Aransas County is a top retirement spot in Texas and has recently seen tremendous growth in the number of retirees relocating to the area (Aransas County, n.d.). In 2005, 27 percent of the population were 18 and under, 52 percent were between the ages of 19 and 65 and 21 percent of the population were 65 and older. Texas’ age distribution indicates that 36 percent of the population is 18 and under, 54 percent were in between the ages of 19 and 65 and only 9.9 percent are over 65 years old (Table 5-2). Table 5-1. Population and Growth Rate by County, 1980-2006 Population/Growth Rate by County 1980 1990 2000 2006 Aransas 14,260 17,892 22,497 24,831 --- 25.47% 25.74% 10.37% Calhoun 19,574 19,053 20,647 20,705 --- -2.67% 8.37% 0.28% Refugio 9,289 7,976 7,828 7,596 --- -14.13% -1.86% -2.96% Source: (US Census Bureau, 2007b; US Census Bureau, 2007d; US Census Bureau, 2007g) 45
Page 1 and 2: Final Report to the Texas Coastal M
Page 3 and 4: 5.2.2. Sources / Data .............
Page 5 and 6: Executive Summary The San Antonio B
Page 7 and 8: ecotourism included in the model. T
Page 9 and 10: 1. Overview of San Antonio Bay Regi
Page 11 and 12: and shellfish species and estuarine
Page 13 and 14: According to the Rockport-Fulton Ch
Page 15 and 16: effect is limited by assimilative c
Page 17 and 18: freshwater inflow acts as a mechani
Page 19 and 20: sulfide. Heavy metals bounds to sed
Page 21 and 22: inflow levels and populations of se
Page 23 and 24: and could potentially make the cran
Page 25 and 26: 3. Characterization of Ecotourism i
Page 27 and 28: Contributes actively to the conserv
Page 29 and 30: Figure 3-1. Public Protected Areas
Page 31 and 32: 1987 and then purchased in 1991. Pr
Page 33 and 34: 3.3.2. The Economics of Multiple Na
Page 35 and 36: Table 3-2. Average Willingness to P
Page 37 and 38: Table 3-3. Personal Income and Prod
Page 39 and 40: impact. It is necessary to conduct
Page 41 and 42: 4.2. Key Site Details for the Analy
Page 43 and 44: approach allows examination of ques
Page 45 and 46: This average number of trips from t
Page 47 and 48: occasional flood and drought events
Page 49 and 50: The results of the regression yield
Page 51: gallons, which results in a value o
Page 55 and 56: thresholds vary according the size
Page 57 and 58: The total number of full-time and p
Page 59 and 60: The County also shows a lower educa
Page 61 and 62: Refugio shows a rapid decrease in t
Page 63 and 64: IM t+ n ic = E t ic ⎡⎛ E × ⎢
Page 65 and 66: included an economic analysis of th
Page 67 and 68: Table 5-5. Employment Shift-Share A
Page 69 and 70: Fishing and related activities. The
Page 71 and 72: Figure 5-15. Employment change by s
Page 73 and 74: 5.3.2. Input-Output Analysis The in
Page 75 and 76: Calhoun Calhoun County’s experien
Page 77 and 78: an advantage, particularly in oyste
Page 79 and 80: Impacts on the Freshwater Inflows t
Page 81 and 82: However, due to the lack of consist
Page 83 and 84: This implicitly assumes that flows
Page 85 and 86: for fresh product. This fishery wil
Page 87 and 88: Elliot, D. (2007). Competitive Adva
Page 89 and 90: Pearce, D. W. (1994). The MIT Dicti
Page 91 and 92: The Nature Conservancy. (2002). "Na

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