Conceptualising the economics of plant health protection against invasive pests

Threats to animal and plant health by invading organisms are increasing due to trade liberalisation and increased movement of goods and people. This paper conceptualises an economic approach to protecting plant health against invasive organisms, specifically addressing a multidisciplinary audience involved in plant health research and in government policy-making process. We discuss the conceptual framework and present some generally available management options. We also build a basic model dealing with pre-emptive and reactive control, followed by a numerical illustration to the case of Colorado potato beetle in Finland. The analysis undertaken supports the notion that pre-emptive control is a viable strategy. Reactive control should be considered only if very low invasion magnitude combines with a low level of damage. However, the strategy choice implies also distributional impacts that warrant attention. The analysis results in a solution for a given set of numbers only. Uncertainty is incorporated through sensitivity analysis. The approach presented demonstrates the basic economic thinking behond the issue, and the concepts described allow further development of more sophisticated forms of analysis.