摘要：We examine the efficiency of current flood risk allocation and the use of flood easementsas a means of reallocating flood risk and reducing total flood damages in large river floodplains. Changes in agricultural floodplain land use and levels of crop insurance coverage as the risk offlooding changes are simulated using mathematical programming. The net benefits of floodeasements to a portion of the Lagrange Reach of the Illinois River region are then simulated. Ourresults indicate that flood easements may provide positive net benefits. This positive result stemsprimarily from the decreased risk of flooding for non-inundated agricultural levee districts, ratherthan from reduced municipal flood damages. Our results are robust to changes in the estimateddollar damages, yet extremely sensitive to changes in hydrological estimates.
