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Abstract
Using a nonparametric framework, we analyse the impact of dynamic profit maximization on biodiversity for a sample of UK cereal farms for the year 2007. Recognizing the drawbacks of directly implementing biodiversity as an output or input in a distance function framework, we only consider inputs and outputs that are clear choice variables from the firm’s perspective. We use a dynamic, intertemporal profit function to take into account adjustment costs. We assess how dynamic profit maximization may shift land use allocation and, as a consequence, the Shannon index for crop diversification. Doing so allows us to calculate the shadow prices of crop diversification in a novel way that is consistent with the dynamic theory of the firm.