Outlook and Future Research Directions for the Economics of Wildfire Management

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the findings on the state-of-the-art for wildfire management economics research. The previous chapters have demonstrated that there is considerable complexity in describing the determinants of large fire suppression expenditures, and much remains to be known about the costs of fire management. Future research directions are summarized, including community responses to perceived fire risk, managerial incentives and risk preferences, and socio-political factors in fire management decisions. Current trends in large wildfire activity and management expenditures suggest that further economic research may be useful in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of wildfire management.