Countless studies present measures of cruise passenger spending and make claims about economic impact; however, with careful examination the source of the disparity between reported findings and actual passenger spending can be discerned. Drawing on data for Halifax, Nova Scotia the study shows how cruise passenger spending is overstated by the cruise industry in part because of failure to use appropriate methods of probability sampling. This sampling bias impacts overall measures of passenger spending and economic impact. In addition, the research illustrates the importance of considering market segments, weather conditions, and demographic characteristics as factors in analyzing cruise passenger spending.

This study estimates the health benefits associated with a proposed rail trail in Nova Scotia, Canada. A survey of households living within 50 km of the proposed trail provided data. A contingent trip method was employed to estimate projected use for the proposed trail. Projections are the trail will attract approximately 430 trips per day or 160,000 trips per year. The total annual value of increased physical activity expected to arise from the proposed trail (gravel surface) is approximately $456,000 ($2.88 per trip). Present value analysis indicates a gravel surface trail would provide direct health benefits nine times greater than the costs. Allowing all-terrain vehicle access will reduce use and the health benefits by almost 50%. The corresponding reduction in health benefits is equivalent to approximately $220,000 per year.

The objective of this research is to compare the economic benefits (defined as visitor spending) and costs of a UNESCO World Heritage (WH) designation. The study focuses on two sites in Nova Scotia; Old Town Lunenburg (designated as a WH site in 1995) and Grand Pré National Historic Site (which has applied for a WH status). Pre/post designation visitation data from Lunenburg was used to quantify the impact (6.2%) in the Nova Scotia context. A proportional (to visitation) impact was projected for Grand Pré. The analysis indicates that the level of visitation is important in determining economic viability and that the rising costs of a WH designation further challenge smaller scale attractions.

Grand Pré Historic Site in Nova Scotia (Canada) is in the process of applying for a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site (WHS) designation. Conventional wisdom is that such a designation would generate public awareness and increase visitation to the site. The goal of this paper is to estimate the impact of a WHS designation on tourist visitation and related expenditures. Various tourism statistics (covering 1990–2008) for Nova Scotia and its only other established UNESCO site – Lunenburg (designated in 1995) – served as data. Regression analysis produced an estimate of the tourist visitation impact that a WHS designation had on Lunenburg, and could be expected to have on Grand Pré. An increase of 6.2% in tourist visitors due to a WHS designation was estimated. Survey data collected at Grand Pré provided average spending per visitor. The economic impacts were analyzed under both a projected and a historical scenario of visitation. Based on its 10-year historic visitation average, a WHS designation for Grand Pré would generate an increase of 3000 visitors per year. These visitors would generate spending of approximately $200,000 annually in the local economy. Such spending would provide a boost to the local tourism industry, which has experienced significant decline in recent years.

This study explores two issues related to teaching university level introductory microeconomics. The first issue is whether completing assignments in the course is effective in helping students learn the salient concepts. The second issue relates to whether inclusion of the assignments has any significant impact on the overall class average and distribution of course grades (relative to those grades that would exist in absence of the assignments). Issue one was investigated by comparing the results of an assignment question and a surprise quiz (with the same question - completed in class immediately after the assignments were submitted). Based on a statistical analysis of four separate trials over two different semesters, it is concluded that the quiz grades are significantly lower (based on paired T tests at 99% confidence level) and not highly correlated (based on the Pearson correlation coefficients) with the corresponding quiz grades. It was concluded that completing the assignments does not appear to be effective in helping students learn the relevant concepts. Issue two was examined by comparing the mean and distribution of student final grades with/without the assignments (assignments are worth 15 percent of the final grade). It was found that the assignments do have a statistically significant inflationary impact on the overall grades. Furthermore, the assignments distort the distribution of marks. Students with the highest overall grades are helped very little (and often hindered) by the inclusion of assignment marks. Conversely, students at the bottom end of the distribution see their grades raised by the greatest amount.

The growing popularity of using all terrain vehicles (ATVs) for leisure has become an important issue for both existing and planned trails. A contingent trip survey was used to examine the impact of different ATV access levels on trip demand for a proposed trail in the province of Nova Scotia (Canada). Relative to a prohibition on ATVs, permitting their use reduced non-ATV users' expected trips by 48% and their consumer surplus by 41%. Depending on ATV access level and travel cost, total consumer surplus ranges from approximately $1million (M) Canadian dollars ($C) to $C4M and between C$9.19 and C$26.89 per trip. Trip demand is also weakly related to trail surface, particularly for potential commuters. We suggest that the trail be implemented as a paved pathway in the central core where the population is most dense and that ATV use be prohibited on this portion. A gravel-based shared-use path with controlled ATV use is recommended for the eastern end of the trail where the population is of much less density and where non-ATV use will likely be low.

This study explores two issues related to teaching university level introductory microeconomics. The first issue is whether completing assignments in the course is effective in helping students learn the salient concepts. The second issue relates to whether inclusion of the assignments has any significant impact on the overall class average and distribution of course grades (relative to those grades that would exist in absence of the assignments). Issue one was investigated by comparing the results of an assignment question and a surprise quiz (with the same question - completed in class immediately after the assignments were submitted). Based on a statistical analysis of four separate trials over two different semesters, it is concluded that the quiz grades are significantly lower (based on paired T tests at 99% confidence level) and not highly correlated (based on the Pearson correlation coefficients) with the corresponding quiz grades. It was concluded that completing the assignments does not appear to be effective in helping students learn the relevant concepts. Issue two was examined by comparing the mean and distribution of student final grades with/without the assignments (assignments are worth 15 percent of the final grade). It was found that the assignments do have a statistically significant inflationary impact on the overall grades. Furthermore, the assignments distort the distribution of marks. Students with the highest overall grades are helped very little (and often hindered) by the inclusion of assignment marks. Conversely, students at the bottom end of the distribution see their grades raised by the greatest amount.