Kevin J. Boyle
Dr. Boyle’s research focuses on improving methods to measure values for resources that are not explicitly traded in markets. He has worked with stated-preference methods (contingent valuation and choice modeling), revealed-preference methods (hedonic and travel-cost models, and averting behavior) and benefit transfers. Applications of his research include surface and groundwater, land use, forest health, climate change, marine resources, and human health. He has participated in projects throughout the U.S. and in Canada, Chile, Australia, Bangladesh and India. One of his specialties is the estimation of property-value models to understand how amenities and disamenities affect real estate market values. He has studied the property value impacts of air pollution, forest pest infestations, surface and groundwater quality, urban stormwater infrastructure, tree cover, and other applications.
Prior to coming to Virginia Tech Dr. Boyle was on the faculty at the University of Maine where he was a Distinguished Maine Professor. At Virginia Tech he received the Alumni Award for Research Excellence and was named to the Academy of Faculty Leadership. Dr. Boyle served as the Founding Head of the Blackwood Department of Real Estate.
He was listed as one of the Top 100 People in Real Estate for 2022 and is a Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association and Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
Expertise:
Education
- Ph.D. Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin
- M.S. Agricultural and Resource Economics, Oregon State University
- B.A. Economics, Distinction, University of Maine
My primary specialty is the development of methods to estimate nonmarket values where I am a co-editor of A Primer on Nonmarket Valuation. Much of my current research focuses on the estimation of property-value models to understand how amenities and disamenities affect real estate market values. I am a coauthor on seminal articles on the state of the art for stated-preference methods, property-value modeling and benefit-transfer procedures.
My application specialties include valuation of freshwater resources, both surface water and groundwater. I have studied the effects of nonpoint-source pollution on lakes at numerous locations around the US, arsenic in groundwater in Maine and Bangladesh, stream riparian restoration in Sydney, AU, horticulture growers’ avoidance of pathogens in irrigation water, water purchases from irrigators in the Macquarie Marshes, AU, urban stormwater infrastructure. Currently, I am working with graduate students postdocs and colleagues from several universities to exploit national data on lake water quality to inform public decision making.
The third specialty is public health. I am currently part of a team developing and studying the efficacy of an app that exploits NASA’s satellite date to inform households of cholera risk.
Sreeya Brahma, Graduate Student, Architecture, Virginia Tech
Mallory Phillps
Kristen Swedberg, Ph.D. student, Economics, Virginia Tech
Katie Stump, Manager, Science Policy, CropLife America
Wesley Johnson, Forest Planning Analyst, American Forest Management, Inc.
Laura Dodson, Agricultural Economist, U.S Department of Agriculture
Nicole D’Alessio, Insights Business Analyst, LivePerson
Jessica Boatwright, Community Agribusiness Advisor, Peace Corps, Uganda
Elizabeth Heier
David Hartter, Sr. Research and Development Manage, Newell Brands
Harry Fuller, Supervisory Mathematical Statistician, U.S. Census Bureau
Nilam Prasai, Data Curator, IFPRI
Bradley Neumann, Senior Extension Educator, Michigan State University
Semra Özdemir Van Dyk, Assistant Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore (The Norris Charles Clements Graduate Award, Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station Research Council)
Jessica Sargent-Michaud, Director of Conservation Economics, The Trust for Public Land
Robert Paterson, Principal, IEC.
Tommy Hsu, Water Quality Department Manager, Hunsaker & Associates
Genevieve (Pullis) La Rouch, Field Supervisor, Chesapeake Bay Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Jennifer Schuetz, Executive Director, Fractal Foundation
Brian Harris
Shelly Phillips, IT Business Analyst
Steve Lawson, Senior Director, Public Lands Planning and Management, RSG, Inc.
Margaret Schneemann, Water Resource Economist, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program
Holly (James) Michael, Senior Economist, W.H Desvousges & Associates (Dow-Griffee Award, Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station)
Marcia L. Phillips
Ramona El Hamzoui, Deputy Mission Director, USAID, India
Deanna Jalbert, Librarian, Maine School Administrative District 27
John Westra, J. Nelson Fairbanks Endowed Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness, Louisiana State University
Jessica Agnew, Associate Director, CALS Global, Virginia Tech
Weizhe Weng, Assistant Professor at SUNY Geneseo
Weibin Xu, Senior Analyst-Enterprise Optimization, United Airlines, Chicago, IL
Shyamani Siriwardena, Post-doctoral Researcher, Virginia Tech
Yuan Yuan, Data Scientist, Convoy Inc., Seattle, WA
Xiaoshu Li, Research Associate, Center for Health Services Research, University of Kentucky
Sapna Kaul, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Congwen Zhang
Ewa Kleczyk, Vice President, Client Analytics, Symphony Health Solutions. Philadelphia, PA
Sonia Aziz, Associate Professor, Moravian College
Shyamani Siriwardena, Post-doctoral Researcher, Virginia Tech
Prasenjit Sarkhel, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Kalyani University, Nadia, West Bengal, India
David Scrogin, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Central Florida
P. Joan Poor, Provost, Upper Iowa University
Brian Roach, Senior Research Associate, Tufts Global Development and Environment Institute
Current Projects (PI or co-PI)
"Evaluation and Program Assistant, Local Food Research Center, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project"
“Linking land use decision-making, water quality, and lake associations to understand human-natural feedbacks in lake catchments.” Sponsor: National Science Foundation.
“Effects of Oyster Aquaculture on Chesapeake Bay Waterfront Property Values.”
“Market Mechanisms to Address Micronutrient Diet Deficiencies in Low-Income Countries.”
“Sitting of Community Wind Farms: An Investigation of the NIMBY Effect.”
“Large-scale Hedonic Property Value Analysis of Forest Pest Impacts Related to Climate Change - Impact of the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid on Property Values.” Sponsor: U. S. Forest Service.
“Meta-analysis of Forest-Based Hedonic Property Value Studies: Value of Tree Cover in Suburban Areas.” Sponsor: U. S. Forest Service.
“Dynamic Interactions of Monetary and Non-monetary Incentives in Weight Loss Interventions.” Sponsor: NIH.
“Integrated Management of Zoosporic Pathogens and Irrigation Water Quality for a Sustainable Green Industry.” Sponsor: USDA-Specialty Crops.
Professor, Blackwood Program in Real Estate, Pamplin College of Business, 2022-present.
Willis Blackwood Director, Blackwood Program in Real Estate, Pamplin College of Business, 2019-present.
Founding Director, Program in Real Estate, Virginia Tech, 2013-2019.
Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, September 2012 to present.
Professor and Head, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, September 2005 to March 2012.
Distinguished Maine Professor, Department of Resource Economics and Policy, Department of Wildlife Ecology, September 2002 to August 2005
Chair, Department of Resource Economics and Policy, University of Maine, June 2003 to August 2005.
Founding Director, Center for Tourism Research and Outreach (CenTRO), University of Maine, September 2004 to August 2005.
- Selected Awards
- Top 100 People in Real Estate for 2022
- 2020 Alumni Award for Research Excellence, Virginia Tech
- Fellow, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, 2019
- Faculty Alumni Engagement Award, Virginia Tech College of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 2019
- Fellow, Association of Environmental and Resource Economics, 2018
- Academy of Faculty Leadership, Virginia Tech, 2018
- Service Award, Land, Water and Environmental Economics Section, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, 2015
- Publication of Merit, Environmental and Resource Economics, 2014. Boyle, Kevin J., Christopher C. Parmeter, Bent Boehlert, and Robert Paterson. 2013. “Due Diligence in Meta-Analyses to Support Benefit Transfers.” Environmental and Resource Economics, Vol. 55 (3): 357-386.
- U.S. Professor of the Year, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Council for Advancement and Support of Education, 2004
- Distinguished Maine Professor, University of Maine, 2003
- ESCOP/ACOP Leadership Development Program Certificate, 2003
- Distinguished Member, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, 2002
- Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award, University of Maine, 2001
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Robert J. Johnston, Kevin J. Boyle, Wiktor Adamowicz, Jeff Bennett, Roy Brouwer, Trudy Ann Cameron, W. Michael Hanemann, Nick Hanley, Mandy Ryan, Riccardo Scarpa, Roger Tourangeau, Christian A. Vossler. "Contemporary Guidance for Stated Preference Studies." 2017, Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economics, Vol. 4 (2): 319-405.
Rothwell, Erin, Sapna Kaul, Kevin Boyle, and Bob Wong. "Value of Genetic Incidental Findings Related to Cancer Causing Genes." American Journal of Cancer Prevention, Vol. 4 (3): 44-50.
Kaul, Sapna, Rochelle R. Smits-Seeman, Eduardo R. Zamora, Holly Spraker-Perlman, Kevin J. Boyle and Anne C. Kirchhoff. “Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors’ Valuation of Post-Treatment Recommended Care.” Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology, Vol 6 (1): 127-133. (doi:10.1089/jayao.2016.0054).
Siriwardena, Shyamani, Kevin J. Boyle, Thomas P. Holmes and P. Eric Wiseman. 2016. “The implicit value of tree cover in the U.S.: A meta-analysis of hedonic property value studies.” Ecological Economics, Vol. 128: 68-76.
Cultice, Alyssa, Darrell J. Bosch, James W. Pease and Kevin J. Boyle. 2016. “Horticultural Growers’ Willingness to Adopt Recycling of Irrigation Water”. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Vol. 48 (1): 99–118.
Boyle, K.J., R.W. Paterson, R.T. Carson, Christopher Leggett, B. Kanninen, John Molenar, and J. Neumann. 2016. “Valuing Shifts in the Distribution of Visibility in National Parks and Wilderness Areas in the United States.” Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 173: 10-22.
Cohen, Jed, Klaus Moeltner, Christine Blinn, Kevin J. Boyle and Thomas P. Holmes. 2016. “Hedonic Valuation with Translating Amenities: Mountain Pine Beetles and Host Trees in the Colorado Front Range.” Environmental and Resource Economics, Vol. 65 (3): 613-642.
Boyle, Kevin J., Mark Morrison, Darla Hatton MacDonald, and Roderick Duncan. 2016. “Investigating Internet and Mail Implementation of Stated-Preference Surveys While Controlling for Differences in Sample Frames”. Environmental and Resource Economics, Vol. 64 (3):401-419.
Yuan, Yuan, Kevin J. Boyle and Wen You. 2015. “Sample Selection, Individual Heterogeneity and Regional Heterogeneity in Valuing Farmland Conservation Easements.” Land Economics, Vol. 91 (4): 627-649.
Dymond, Randy, Kevin J. Boyle, Yvan J. Beliveau, Rosemary Carucci Goss, Raman Kumar and P. Eric Wiseman. 2015. “Development of an Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Program in Real Estate: Breaking Down University Silos.” Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education, Vol. 18 (2):141-162.
Tanellari, Eftila, Darrell Bosch, Kevin Boyle and Elton Mykerezi. 2015. “On consumers’ attitudes and willingness to pay for improved drinking water quality and infrastructure.” Water Resources Research, Vol. 51 91): 47-57.
Hashemi, Ali, Wen You, Kevin J. Boyle, Christopher F. Parmeter, Barbara Kanninen and Paul A. Estabrooks. 2015. “Identifying Financial Incentive Designs to Enhance Participation in Weight Loss Programs.” Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy, Vol. 5 (247):2.
Zhang, Congwen, Kevin J. Boyle and Nicolai V. Kuminoff. “Partial Identification of Hedonic Demand Functions.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Vol. 71:180-197.
Aziz, Sonia, Kevin J. Boyle and Thomas Crocker. “Parental Decisions, Child Health and Valuation of Avoiding Arsenic in Drinking Water in Rural Bangladesh.” Journal of Water and Health, Vol. 13 (1): 152-167.
Li, Xiaoshu, K. J. Boyle, Thomas P. Holmes, and Genevieve Pullis-LaRouche. 2014. The effect of on-site forest experience on stated preferences for low impact timber harvesting programs. Journal of Forest Economics, Vol. 20 (4): 348-362.
Li, Xiaoshu, Evan L. Preisser, Kevin J. Boyle, Thomas P. Holmes, Andrew Liebhold and David Orwig. 2014. “Potential social and economic impacts of the hemlock woolly adelgid in Southern New England.” Southern Naturalist/Northeastern Naturalist, Vol. 13 (6): 130-146.
Aziz, Sonia, Khwaja M. Sultanul Aziz and Kevin J. Boyle. 2014. "Arsenic in drinking water in Bangladesh: factors affecting child health." Frontiers in Public Health, Volume 2, Article 57: 1-6.
Tobias Börger, Nicola J. Beaumont, Linwood Pendleton, Kevin J. Boyle, Philip Cooper, Stephen Fletcher, Tim Haab, Michael Hanemann, Tara L. Hooper, S. Salman Hussain, Rosimeiry Portela, Mavra Stithou, Joanna Stockill, Tim Taylor and Melanie C. Austen. 2014. “Incorporating Ecosystem Services in Marine Planning: The Role of Valuation.” Marine Policy, Vol. 46:161-170.
Boatwright, Jessica, Kurt Stephenson, Kevin Boyle, and Sara Nienow. 2013. “Stormwater Control Infrastructure and Residential Property Values.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management.
Kaul, Sapna, Kevin J. Boyle, Nicolai V. Kuminoff, Christopher F. Parmeter and Jaren C. Pope. 2013. “What Can We Learn from Benefit Transfer Errors? Evidence from 20 Years of Research on Convergent Validity.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.
Boyle, Kevin J., Christopher C. Parmeter, Bent Boehlert, and Robert Paterson. 2013. “Due Diligence in Meta-Analyses to Support Benefit Transfers.” Environmental and Resource Economics.
Kotchen, Matthew J., Kevin J. Boyle and Anthony A. Leiserowitz. 2013. “Policy-Instrument Choice and Benefit Estimates for Climate-Change Policy in the United States.” Energy Policy, Vol. 55: 617-625.
Teisl, Mario F., Eric Fromberg, Andrew E. Smith, Kevin J. Boyle and Haley M. Engelberth. 2011. “Awake at the Switch: Improving Fish Consumption Advisories for At-risk Women.” Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 409 (18):3257-3266.
Hatton-MacDonald, Darla, Mark Morrison, John Rose and Kevin J. Boyle. 2011. “Valuing a Multi-State River: The Case of the River Murray.” TheAustralian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Vol. 55 (3): 373-391. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8489.2011.00551.x/full)
Zhang, Congwen, and Kevin J. Boyle. 2010. “The Effect of an Aquatic Invasive Species (Eurasian Watermilfoil) on Lakefront Property Values.” Ecological Economics, Vol. 70 (2): 394-404.
Boyle, Kevin J., Nicolai V. Kuminoff, Christopher F. Parmeter and Jaren C. Pope. 2010. “The Benefit Transfer Challenges.” Annual Review of Resource Economics, Vol. 2: 161-182.
Taylor, Laura, Mark Morrison and Kevin J. Boyle. 2010. "Exchange Rules and the Incentive Compatibility of Choice Experiments." Environmental and Resource Economics, Vol. 47 (2): 197-220.
Boyle, Kevin J., Nicolai Kuminoff, Congwen Zhang, Michael Devanney, and Kathleen P. Bell. 2010. "Does a Property-Specific Environmental Health Risk Create a 'Neighborhood' Housing-Price Stigma? Arsenic in Private Well Water." Water Resources Research, Vol. 46: W03507. (http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2010/2009WR008074.shtml)
Scrogin, David, Richard Hofler, Kevin J. Boyle and J. Walter Milon. 2010. “An Efficiency Approach to Choice set Formation: Theory and Application to Recreational Destination Choice.” Applied Economics, Vol. 42 (3): 333-350.
Boyle, Kevin J., Nicolai V. Kuminoff, Christopher F. Parmeter and Jaen C. Pope. 2009. “Necessary Conditions for Valid Benefit Transfers.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 91 (5): 1328-1334.
Neumann, Bradley C., Kevin J Boyle and Kathleen P. Bell. 2009. “Property Price Effects of a National Wildlife Refuge: Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts.” Land Use Policy, Vol. 26 (4): 1011-1019.
Özdemir, Semra, and Kevin J. Boyle. 2009. “Convergent Validity of Attribute-Based, Choice Questions in Stated-Preference Studies.” Environmental and Resource Economics, Vol. 42 (2): 247-264.
Parson, George, Ami Kang, Christopher Leggett. 2009. "Valuing Beach Closures on the Padre Island National Seashore." Marine Resource Economics, Vol. 24 (3): 213-235.
Paterson, Robert W., Kevin J. Boyle, Christopher F. Parmeter, James E. Neuman and Paul De Civita. 2008. “Heterogeneity in Preferences for Smoking Cessation.” Health Economics, Vol. 17 (12): 1363-1377).
Moeltner, Klaus, Kevin J. Boyle and Robert W. Paterson. 2007. “Meta-Analysis and Benefit Transfer for Resource Valuation: Addressing Classical Challenges with Bayesian Modeling.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Vol. 53 (2): 250-269.
Nelson, Marcy L., James R. Gilbert and Kevin J. Boyle. 2006. “The Influence of Siting and Deterrence Methods on Seal predation at Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Farms in Maine, 2001-2003.” Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Vol. 63 (July): 1710-1721.
Aziz Sonia N., Kevin J. Boyle, and Mahfuzar Rahman. 2006. “Knowledge of Arsenic in Drinking-water: Risks and Avoidance in Matlab, Bangladesh.” Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, Vol. 24 (3): 327-335.
Sargent-Michaud, Jessica, Kevin J. Boyle, and Andrew E. Smith. 2006. “Cost Effective Arsenic Reductions in Private Wells.” Water Resources Bulletin. Vol. 42 (5): 237-245.
Books
Champ, Patricia A., Kevin J. Boyle, and Tom C. Brown (eds.). 2017 (2nd edition). A Primer on Nonmarket Valuation. Springer.
Bell, Kathleen P., Kevin J. Boyle and Jonathan R. Rubin, (eds.). 2006. Economics of Rural Land-Use Change. Ashgate Publishers: UK.
Heal, Geoffrey M., Edward B. Barbiere, Kevin J. Boyle, Alan P. Covich, Steven P. Gloss, Carlton H. Hershner, John P. Hoehn, Catherine M. Pringle, Stephen Polasky, Kathleen Segerson, and Kristin Schrader-Frechette. 2005. Valuing Ecosystem Services: Toward Better Environmental Decision-Making. The National Academies Press: Washington, DC.
Bergstrom, John C., Kevin J. Boyle, and Gregory L. Poe (eds.). 2001. The Economic Value of Water Quality. Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.: Cheltenham, UK.
