HE CONVERSION OF FARMLAND to residential sites and to otherT nonagricultural uses is a significant public policy issue in many regions of the United States and other parts of the world. While lost food production potential and the decline of local farming industry are oftencited objections to these shifts in resource use, a more significant issue in land-rich regions, where farming is not seriously constrained by resource availability, may be the site-specific losses of open space amenities associated with agricultural enterprise near population centers. The purpose of this paper is to report on a recent attempt to value these quality-of-environment benefits of farmland in an agricultural region of south central Alaska. We begin with a discussion of a conceptual framework for the valuation of collective goods such as open space and historical values. The next section adapts this framework to the problem under study. This is followed by presentations of the empirical procedures and results. Finally, our discussion relates these results to some earlier work and suggests extensions to the current study. Conceptual BackgroundThe food and fiber outputs of agricultural production in the U.S. are exchanged in well organized, largely competitive markets with the potential for providing efficient quantities of these private goods. The open space and other environmental amenities associated with urban fringe agriculturalThe authors are, respectively, instructor, associate professor, and assistant professor of economics, University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Financial assistance from the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Office of Vice Chancellor for Research and Advanced Study, University of AlaskaFairbanks i s gratefully acknowledged.

This paper employs a hazard model to analyse the impact of education and two types of prison employment programmes on recidivism over a ten-year period for 4515 prisoners released from Ohio prisons in 1992. Estimations with a Weibull mixture model and propensity score approach provide two means for investigating self-selection bias. Selection bias is detected for participation in the most common prison job programme but has little effect on estimated marginal savings impacts of prison industry and education programmes. Estimates of the cost savings from postponing return to prison due to programme participation are provided. The potential for cost savings through decreasing or delaying return to prison is an important finding given the substantial and increasing cost of incarceration. Copyright (c) The London School of Economics and Political Science 2008.

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Background People with serious mental illness often receive inadequate primary and preventive care services. Federal healthcare reform endorses team-based care that provides high quality primary and preventive care to at risk populations. Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams offer a proven, standardized treatment approach effective in improving mental health outcomes for the seriously mentally ill. Much is known about the effectiveness of ACT teams in improving mental health outcomes, but the degree to which medical care needs are addressed is not established. Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which ACT teams address the physical health of the population they serve. Methods ACT team leaders were invited to complete an anonymous, web-based survey to explore attitudes and activities involving the primary care needs of their clients. Information was collected regarding the use of health screening tools, physical health assessments, provision of medical care and collaboration with primary care systems. Results Data was analyzed from 127 team leaders across the country, of which 55 completed the entire survey. Nearly every ACT team leader believed ACT teams have a role in identifying and managing the medical co-morbidities of their clientele. ACT teams report participation in many primary care activities. Conclusions ACT teams are providing a substantial amount of primary and preventive services to their population. The survey suggests standardization of physical health identification, management or referral processes within ACT teams may result in improved quality of medical care. ACT teams are in a unique position to improve physical health care by virtue of having medically trained staff and frequent, close contact with their clients.