Biography
Tracy Stobbe holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Victoria, a master's degree in Public Policy from the University of California Berkeley and an undergraduate degree (highest honours) in Journalism from Carleton University. Returning to the Lower Mainland, she was happy to start her academic career at Trinity Western University. Apart from teaching statistics, quantitative methods, and the history of economic thought, she is actively engaged in research endeavours related to the "urban fringe" examining agriculture's presence near cities and the economic, environmental and social impacts that it has there. In the past few years, she has held research grants from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (federal) and from the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (provincial), Metro Vancouver (regional), and the Fraser Valley Regional District. In her spare time, she enjoy singing with the Trinity Western choir.
Education
PhD (Economics), University of Victoria, 2008
MPP (Public Policy), University of California, Berkeley, 2003
BJ (Journalism), Carleton University, 2000
Areas of Expertise
Economics; environmental, natural resource and agricultural economics and policy; the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) and urban fringe issues in agriculture; history of economic thought
Scholarship Interests & Involvements
My current research relates to the interface between agriculture, urban developments and the environment, and the externalities and opportunities that lie in that sometimes controversial zone. My papers have examined the prices of agricultural land, the effect of hobby farms on land prices and agricultural practices, the decision making by the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC), the effect of direct- and niche-marketing in the urban fringe, and policy options available to governments who are seeking to protect farmland and the farm economy.
In a more general sense, I am interested in how market mechanisms can be used to protect the environment. During my master's degree I did some work relating to wetland mitigation banking and how non-profit and even for-profit groups are helping conserve and restore the environment. I hope that over time governments will continue harness this huge potential resevoir (the market) in helping protect our natural world.
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles or Book Chapters
Stobbe, Tracy, Geerte Cotteleer and G. Cornelis van Kooten, “Hobby Farms and Protection of Farmland in British Columbia”, Canadian Journal of Regional Science, Vol 32 (3): December 2009 (forthcoming).
Cotteler, Geerte, Tracy Stobbe and G. Cornelis van Kooten “Bayesian Model Averaging in the Context of Spatial Hedonic Pricing: An Application to Farmland Values” University of Victoria. (Forthcoming in the Journal of Regional Science.)
Cotteleer, Geerte, Tracy Stobbe and G. Cornelis van Kooten “Farmland Conservation in The Netherlands and British Columbia, Canada: A Comparative Analysis Using GIS-based Hedonic Pricing Models”, forthcoming in Multifunctional Rural Land Management: Economic and Policies, eds Floor Brouwer and Martijn van der Heide, Earthscan, 2009, chapter 7.
Stobbe, Tracy, Alison Eagle, G. Cornelis van Kooten and Geerte Cotteleer, “Farmland Preservation Verdicts: Rezoning Agricultural Land in British Columbia”, University of Victoria, REPA working paper. (Forthcoming in the Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics.)
Stobbe, Tracy, Alison Eagle and G. Cornelis van Kooten, “Niche and Direct Marketing in the Urban-Rural Fringe: A Study of the Agricultural Economy in the Shadow of a Large City”, working paper. (Revise and resubmitted to BC Studies, May 2010.)
Cotteleer, Geerte, Tracy Stobbe and G. Cornelis van Kooten “Expert Opinion vs. Transaction Evidence: Using the Reilly Index to Measure Open Space Premiums in the Urban-Rural Fringe”, University of Victoria, REPA working paper. (Submitted to the Annals of Regional Science in May 2010.)
Government Reports and Policy Briefs
Stobbe, Tracy “The Socio-Economic Impacts of Propane Cannons on Residents in the Fraser Valley: A Survey on the Willingness-To-Pay to Curb Negative Externalities Resulting from Deterring Avian Predation of Blueberries”, report submitted to the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (MAL) and the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD), January 2010.
Stobbe, Tracy “Understanding Disturbance Caused by Avian Auditory Deterrents: A Literature Review of the Broader Context of Noise Externalities and the Implications for Future Study”, report submitted to the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (MAL) and the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD), January 2009.
Eagle, Alison J., Tracy Stobbe, G. Cornelis van Kooten and Geerte Cotteleer “Agricultural Land Values – Can Productive Agriculture Survive Development Pressures in British Columbia?”, Farm Level Policy (FLP) Policy Brief, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), April 2008.
Stobbe, Tracy, G. Cornelis van Kooten and Geerte Cotteleer “Externalities and Valuation of Farmland in the Urban Fringe”, Farm Level Policy (FLP) Policy Brief, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), May 2007.
Other Research
Stobbe, Tracy “The Economics and Externalities of Agricultural Land in the Urban Fringe”, PhD dissertation, University of Victoria, 2008. Available through D-space at the University of Victoria’s website.
Wates, Tracy “Exotic Species in National Parks: Managing Public Conflict”, National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior, and the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California Berkeley, 2003.
(1996 – 2007) Numerous articles and opinion pieces in newspapers across Canada including The Ottawa Citizen and The Toronto Star.
CONFERENCES
International Journal of Arts and Science (IJAS) annual conference, June 8th to 11th, 2010, Provence, France
- Presentation: “Agriculture in the Urban Fringe: How Land Values and Farming Practices Change in the Shadow of Big Cities”
Western Regional Science Association (WRSA) annual meeting, February 21st to 24th, 2010, Sedona, Arizona
- Presentation: “Agricultural Rezoning in the Urban-Rural Fringe”
BC Land Summit, May 20th to 22nd, 2009, Whistler, BC
- Presented paper: “The Effectiveness of Niche and Local Marketing as Agricultural Survival Strategies on the Urban Fringe”
Joint Annual Meeting of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society (CAES) and the Canadian Economics Association (CEA), May 29th to May 30th, 2009, Toronto, ON
- Co-author (Alison Eagle) presented paper “Farmland Preservations Verdicts: Rezoning Agricultural Land in British Columbia”
Western Regional Science Association (WRSA) annual meeting, February 22nd to 25th, 2009, Napa, California
- Presented paper: “Expert Opinion vs. Transaction Evidence: Using the Reilly Index to Measure Open Space Premiums in the Urban-Rural Fringe”
Farm Level Policy Network, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) workshop meeting, October 23rd, 2008, Ottawa, ON
- Presentation: “Agricultural Land in the Urban Fringe: Policy Implications”
Canadian Agricultural Economics Society workshop, October 24th and 25th, 2008, Ottawa, ON
- Poster Presentation: “Agriculture in the Urban Fringe”
Canadian Economics Association (CEA) annual meeting, June 6th to 8th, 2008, Vancouver, BC
- Presented paper: “Expert Opinion vs. Transaction Evidence: Using the Reilly Index to Measure Open Space Premiums in the Urban-Rural Fringe”
- Co-author (Alison Eagle) presented paper “Hobby Farms and Protection of Farmland in British Columbia”
International Conference on Agricultural Policy Changes: Canada, EU and the WTO, September 13th to 15th, 2007, Victoria, BC
- Presented paper: “Hobby Farms and Protection of Farmland in British Columbia”
Joint Annual Meeting of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society (CAES) and the American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA), July 29th to August 1st, 2007, Portland, Oregon
- Presented paper: “Hobby Farms and Protection of Farmland in British Columbia”
Understanding Relations in Nature and Economy: An Application to the Rural Countryside, May 31st to June 2nd, 2007, Wageningen (The Netherlands)
- Presented paper: “Farmland Conservation in The Netherlands and British Columbia, Canada: A Comparative Analysis Using GIS-based Hedonic Pricing Models”
Spatial Econometrics Conference, July 11th to 14th, 2007, Cambridge, England
- Co-author (Geerte Cotteleer) presented paper “Farmland Conservation in the Netherlands and British Columbia”
Joint Annual Meetings of the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society (AFHVS) and the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS), May 30th to June 3rd, 2007, Victoria, BC
- Co-author (Alison Eagle) presented paper “Farmland Conservation in the Urban Fringe”
Farm Level Policy research network (FLP)-AAFC-CAES joint workshop, October, 2006, Calgary, AB
- Presentation updating the network about current research progress and directions
FLP-AAFC joint workshop, March, 2006, Ottawa, ON
- Attended workshop (joint with all the AAFC research networks)
Canadian Resource and Environmental Economists’ (CREE) Working Group meeting, October, 2003, Victoria, BC
- Attended conference
PUBLIC LECTURES AND MEDIA
“TWU potentially expands dorms on Agricultural Land Reserve”, Mars’ Hill (TWU student newspaper), Feb. 3rd, 2010, volume 14, issue 8.
- Newspaper article about TWU’s recent application to the Agricultural Land Commission to exclude the 57-acres; offered comment and background to the writer
January 25, 2010 at the Chilliwack Library for Science World
- Panel discussant on local agricultural issues as part of Science World’s Café Scientifique series
“TWU professor takes on agriculture project”, Mars’ Hill (TWU student newspaper), November 18th, 2009
- Newspaper article on my research and recent project working with Metro Vancouver
March 19th, 2009 at Trinity Western University
- Panel discussant on human-nature interactions as part of Earth Week
November 6th, 2008 at Trinity Western University
- Participated in the TWU Economic Summit on the recent financial crisis
September 24th, 2008 in Vancouver for Mensa Canada
- Lecture and discussion on agricultural land in the urban fringe
Memberships & Affiliations
Canadian Agricultural Economics Society (CAES)
Western Regional Science Association (WRSA)
Canadian Economics Association (CEA)
Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE)
Association of Christian Economists (ACE)
A Rocha Canada
Mensa Canada
Courses Taught at TWU
Currently teaching:
Business Statistics (BUSI/ECON 275)
Quantitative Methods (BUSI/ECON 276)
History of Economic Thought (HIST/ECON 306)
Taught in the past:
Microeconomics (BUSI/ECON 201)
Money and Banking (BUSI/ECON 304)
Awards & Honours
2009-2010 Metro Vancouver (regional district)
- Co-Investigator (with Deborah Curran)
- Duration September 2009 to April 2010
- Valued at $40,000
2009-2010 Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (MAL) and Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) grant
- Principal Investigator
- Duration May 2009 to January 2010
- Valued at $15,000
2008 - 2009 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Farm Level Policy (FLP) grant
- Principal Investigator
- Duration June 2008 to March 2009
- Valued at $15,000
2008 Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (MAL) and Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) grant
- Principal Investigator
- Duration September 2008 to December 2008
- Valued at $5,000
2005 - 2008 Agri-Food Canada Farm Level Policy (FLP) grant (PhD dissertation funding)
- Duration: March 2005 to March 2008
- Valued at $60,000
2007 Agricultural Institute of Canada - Douglas McRorie Memorial Scholarship
- Valued at $1,500
2006 Phillips, Hager and North Doctoral Scholarship for Research in Environmental and Resource Economics
- Valued at $9,777
2003 - 2006 University of Victoria Ph.D. Fellowship
- Renewed for the three-year maximum
- Valued at $15,000 per annum