Kathleen P. Bell is Assistant Professor and Kevin J. Boyle is Distinguished Maine Professor both in the Department of Resource Economics and Policy at the University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA. Jonathan Rubin is Interim Director of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center for Public Policy and also Associate Professor in the Department of Resource Economics and Policy at the University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA.

• Contents: Introduction and Background: Objectives and perspectives, Kathleen P. Bell, Kevin J. Boyle, Andrew J. Plantinga, Jonathan Rubin and Mario F. Teisl; A discussion of recent land-use trends, Mary Clare Ahearn and Ralph J. Alig; Effects of policy and technological change on land use, Ralph J. Alig and Mary Clare Ahearn; Transportation and land-use change, Jonathan Rubin; Patterns and processes in the demographics of land-use change in the United States,

’Researchers and students interested in the intersection of economics, land use change, and policy analysis will find this book invaluable. It is one of the first collections that discusses both recent theory and empirical advances in this resurging field...there is something here to spark the interest of a broad range of professionals and to provide a seemingly endless list of researchable ideas for the student.’ Nancy Bockstael, University of Maryland, USA ’The diverse nature of the various papers illustrates the breadth and importance of the topic in the USA with its competing demands on rural land.’ Experimental Agriculture 'This is a timely review of a changing perspective on rural land use that is driven less and less by agricultural production and increasingly by residential, recreational or environmental consumption. As such, it is set to become a standard reference work.' European Review of Agriculture Economics 'The editors and authors have succeeded in producing a book that can introduce the field of the economics of rural land use to a wide professional audience.' Journal of Regional Science 'This book is most interesting for researchers in the area of GIS/remote sensing and related approaches...[and] will serve a wide audience of people interested in the land-use discussion and its economic dimensions.' International Journal of Environment and Pollution