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Valuation of a Recreational Activity: Clamming in Massachusetts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2017

Richard W. Smith ,
Jon M. Conrad  and
David A. Storey
Richard W. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Jon M. Conrad
Affiliation:
Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
David A. Storey
Affiliation:
Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
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Extract

Economists have long wrestled with the problem of determining the value of nonmarket recreational activities. Knowing the value of a recreational activity could be helpful in at least three respects: (1) if the recreational activity is publicly provided, knowing the value which society places on that nonmarket activity would help in determining the appropriate level of public investment, (2) if a user charge for access to the recreational activity were necessary, a knowledge of the distribution of individual valuations would permit estimates of use (demand under alternative fees) and (3) to the extent that the resources involved in the recreational activity have other uses, knowledge of recreational values would help in determining the appropriate allocation of resources between the recreational activity and the other uses. Often the non-recreational activities already have dollar values established in markets; if the other uses are also nonmarket in nature, imputations of their dollar values would also be necessary.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Northeastern Agricultural Economics Council , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , October 1976 , pp. 51 - 64
Copyright
Copyright © Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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Footnotes

†

This paper contains some preliminary results of a larger study examining the recreational values and management institutions of the Atlantic Coast clam resource in Massachusetts. The project was funded under the Hatch Act and the authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station and its Associate Director, Dr. John A. Naegele. The project is also part of Northeast Regional Study NE-91.

References

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