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Estimating the Effect of Socioeconomic Factors on Land Use Distribution at Watershed Level Using A Multinomial Logit Analysis
by
Gandhi Raj Bhattarai
Auburn University
Allocation of fixed proportion of land to developed, agricultural, forest and other uses in a watershed was modeled as an optimization problem faced by a single user. Two time period cross-sectional data for 60 watersheds were used in the analysis. A multinomial logit model was used to explain the effect of population density, mean age, market concentration, travel time to work, road accessibility, personal income, education level and longitude and latitude of watersheds. Developed land use share was positively related to the higher market concentration and road accessibility, but with a higher average time to work, suggesting a rural-urban job interface. Personal income had significant and negative influence in agricultural land share, which in contrast, was increased with higher proportion of people with bachelors and graduate degrees. Longitude had negative influence in developed land share and positive influence in agricultural, forest and other land use. Latitude had positive influence in developed, agricultural and other land share while negatively influencing forestland share.
Date received: September 27, 2005
Copyright © 2005 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # caqt-95.