Lava Yadav joined the department of Economics in November of 2008 as a post-doctoral researcher in the valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. He obtained a B.A. (Mathematics) from Bard College, NY, and an M.S. and Ph.D. (Resource Economics) from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

His research interests are primarily in the areas of Natural Resources Management with a focus on Valuation. For his doctoral work he used experimental economics techniques to study hypothetical bias in the contingent valuation methodology. Other areas of interest include forest management and behavioral economics.

Prior to joining NUIG, he was working at Nexus Market Research, Cambridge, MA, where his work involved the assessment of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs in the states of New England.

He is currently involved in a project funded by the Department of Agriculture assessing the value of ecosystem services and biodiversity in managed landscapes in Ireland. His work also includes payment for ecosystem services (PES), in particular through ecotourism in the west of Ireland.
 

Selected Publications:

Lava Yadav, Tom van Rensburg, Hugh Kelley (2010). “A comparison between the traditional stated preference valuation technique and the prediction based approach.” Paper presented at the 4^th World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montreal, Canada, June 28-July 2, 2010. (Conference Paper)

Murphy, James J., Thomas H. Stevens and Lava Yadav (2010). “A comparison of induced value and home-grown value experiments to test for hypothetical bias in contingent valuation.”  Environmental and Resource Economics. Volume 47, Number 1: 111-123. (article)