Rober's webpage

Welcome to Rober Martínez-Espiñeira's Webpage

research publications teaching CV quotes contact me

My name is Roberto Martínez Espiñeira and I am, since July 2009, an Associate Professor of Economics at Memorial University. This is located in the very beautiful Canadian city of St John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, which happens to also be the oldest city in North America. Before coming to MUN, I worked, from 2001 to 2009 at the Economics Department of St Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

I was born in Lugo, a small town in Galicia, on the northwest of Spain. However, I spent six years studying (and walking under the rain mostly) in Santiago de Compostela, where I gained an Economics degree from the University of Santiago de Compostela. Then I got my MSc in Environmental Economics from the University of York's Environment Department in 1996-97. Contrary to what some people in Canada often think, the University of York is in the United Kingdom,. I wrote my DPhil thesis (University of York 2001) on the Economics of Water Pricing, under the supervision of Jack Pezzey and Charles Perrings.

My research.

I did my thesis on issues related to the estimation of water demand and I still work on problems related to water demand and water pricing. I am also interested in the valuation of natural resources, the management of natural resources, and the estimation of demand functions for non-marketed goods and services. Some of the projects I am currently working on include the estimation of non-use values of wildlife species, the valuation of access to natural recreational sites, and forest management.

Recent publications:

‘A benefit-cost analysis of riparian preservation in an Eastern Canadian watershed’, with Ryan Trenholm, Van Lantz, and Shawn Little Journal of Environmental Management, 116(15), 81–94, 2013

"`Been there done that': Disentangling option value effects from user heterogeneity when valuing natural resources with a use component", with Nikita Lyssenko, Environmental Management, 50(5), 819-836, 2012

"`Adopting versus adapting'': adoption of water-saving technology versus water conservation habits in Spain", with María A. García-Valíñas, forthcoming in the International Journal of Water Resources Development. 2013. (Estimated Publication date) - 2 Oct 2012, Online

"Explanatory Factors of Urban Water Leakage Rates in Southern Spain", with Francisco González-Gómez, María A. García-Valíñas, and Miguel A. García-Rubio, Utiliities Policy, 22(1), 22–30, 2012

“Leisure and the Opportunity Cost of Travel Time in Recreation Demand Analysis” with Joe Amoako-Tuffour, Journal of Applied Economics, 15(1) 25-49, 2012.

"Is the pricing of urban water services justifiably perceived as unequal among Spanish cities?", with Francisco González-Gómez, María de los Ángeles García-Valiñas, International Journal of Water Resources Development, 28(1), 107-121, 2012

"Respondent uncertainty in contingent valuation: The case of whale conservation in Newfoundland and Labrador", with Nikita Lyssenko, Applied Economics, 44(15), 1911-1930, 2012

"Alternative approaches to dealing with respondent uncertainty in contingent valuation: A comparative analysis", with Nikita Lyssenko, Journal of Environmental Management, 93(1) 130-139, 2012.

"Environmental Kuznets curves for bird abundance in Canada: an examination of alternative regression models using panel data" with Van Lantz, International Journal of Ecological Economics & Statistics (IJEES), 27(4), 1-24, 2012

"Correcting for the endogeneity of pro-environment behavioral choices in contingent valuation", with Nikita Lyssenko, Ecological Economics, 70(8), 1435-1439, 2011

Full list of published contributions

Other working papers

Teaching

Previous years:

2010- Introductory Microeconomics, Slot 5: MWF 12:00 pm-12:50 pm

4550-001, Econometrics I, slot 20 (Tue & Thu 03:30 pm-04:45 pm), in A3095

6002-001, Econometrics, slot 11(Mon & Wed 10:30 am-11:45 am), in A3095

Winter 2013

4120 - Applied Welfare Econ & Cost Benefit Analysis
4551 - Econometrics II
6012 - Cost-Benefit Analysis (M. A. Program)

Prospective Students of these and/or any other Economics courses should consult the Departmental website for information on these courses for 2009-2010, and contact me for additional information

My C.V.

Rober outside the office (no, the red thing on my head is NOT the tie in the picture above...):

Contact me:

My e-mail address is rmartinezesp@mun.ca

Roberto Martínez-Espiñeira

Department of Economics
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St John’s

Newfoundland and Labrador A1A 5S7
CANADA

Tel: 1-709-864-3676
FAX: 1-709-864-2094

Office Hours at AA3087

TUE 1:30 to 4:00
WED 11:45 to 13:15
or by appointment

Phone (864-3676) or email to arrange an appointment if you cannot make any of the above times.

Last updated on 7-JAN-2013