Using Revealed and Stated Preference Data to Estimate the Scope and Access Benefits Associated with Cave Diving

In a single-site travel cost model framework, revealed and stated preference data are jointly estimated to provide the first use value estimate associated with recreational cave diving. Focusing on one of Florida’s first magnitude springs, we estimate average per-person per-trip use values of approximately $165, generating annual cave diving use values in excess of$1,150. Further, in an investigation of potential site quality changes, we find that divers are sensitive to scope effects with an additional cave system increasing annual per-person use values by approximately $130, while improved access yields an additional$57 in per-person annual consumer surplus. Finally, three additional model specifications are estimated and indicate that divers use different travel cost preferences when assessing their revealed and stated preference trip counts but a single preference structure to evaluate site quality changes. Key Words: Revealed and Stated Behavior; Scope Effects; Access; Travel Cost Preferences

Disentangling Access and View Amenities in Access-restricted Coastal Residential Communities

In small coastal communities with uniform flood risk, amenity value is comprised of two components – view and access. Having controlled for view, it is assumed that any residual amenity value represents the benefit derived from households from accessing the beach for leisure or recreational purposes. However, as properties closer to the beach typically have improved viewsheds, the two amenities are highly correlated, and disentangling view and access is problematical. We posit that for many coastal communities, access is restricted to designated public access points, precluding local residents from accessing the beach area directly from their property. To appropriately account for restricted access, we incorporate a network distance access measure into a spatial autoregressive hedonic model to capture ease of beach access for local residents. Our findings suggest that, as network distance varies independently from property viewshed, collinearity effects are mitigated, and access and view can be disentangled. Key Words:

Disentangling Access and View Amenities in Access-Restricted Coastal Residential Communities

In coastal communities with uniform flood risk, amenity value is comprised of two components – view and access. Having controlled for view, it is assumed that any residual amenity value represents the benefit derived from accessing the beach for leisure/recreational purposes. However, as properties closer to the beach typically have improved viewsheds, the two amenities are highly correlated, and disentangling view and access is problematical. A spatial autoregressive hedonic model captures ease of beach access via a network distance parameter that varies independently from property viewshed, collinearity effects are mitigated, and access and view can be disentangled.beach access, property viewshed, spatial hedonic model, willingness to pay, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Q51, R12, R21, R23,

Measuring the Willingness to Pay for Fresh Water Cave Diving

Fresh water springs are unique natural resources that are contained within public lands across the United States. Natural resource management on public lands generates many interesting policy issues as the competing goals of conservation, recreational opportunity provision, and revenue generation often clash. As demand for recreational cave diving sites increases, the paper provides natural resource site managers with the first statistical estimate of divers’ willingness to pay to dive fresh water cave and cavern systems. Using a contingent valuation model approach and correcting for hypothetical bias, we find that divers’ median willingness to pay for cave diving opportunities at the site of interest is approximately $68 per dive. Model results also provide evidence of diver sensitivity with respect to scope as individuals are willing to pay more for dives that are higher in quality. Key Words: Contingent Valuation Model; Willingness to Pay; Cave Diving; Scope Sensitivity

Estimating a Payment Vehicle for Financing Nourishment of Residential Beaches using a Spatial-lag Hedonic Property Price Model

Beach nourishment projects are common methods for coastal states to protect beaches and property from the natural erosive process. However, while the beneficiaries of beach nourishment tend to be local property owners and recreators, projects are typically funded at the state level. Based on the benefit principle, as local residents receive more of the erosion protection benefits of the nourishment projects, we estimate a value capture tax, designed to levy the financing burden in a manner that approximates the distribution of benefits. The benefits of nourishment projects to coastal property owners are estimated using the results from a spatial-lag hedonic model that controls for viewshed effects. Key Words:

Gulf Views: Toward a Better Understanding of Viewshed Scope in Hedonic Property Models

This study examines the influence of Gulf of Mexico views on residential home sales prices in Pinellas County, Florida. We utilize Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) data to construct four continuous measures of Gulf of Mexico views – the total view, the maximum view segment, the mean view segment, and proximity to view content. Our results illustrate that residential property owners have a higher marginal willingness-to-pay for larger total views and larger continuous view segments. Results also indicate that the proximity of homes to the view content influences view valuations. Key Words:

Water Quality and Residential Property Values: A Natural Experiment Approach

We use hedonic techniques to measure the impact of improved water quality on inland real estate values. By considering a unique natural experiment setting where consistent and recognizable variation in water quality across two rivers within a small geographic area is well known to market participants, we avoid the major problems inherent in hedonic water quality studies. Controlling for spatial autocorrelation, results show that land and property values increase more substantially with proximity to the non-contaminated river as opposed to the mercurycontaminated river that carries a fish consumption advisory. Results suggest that the value of improving water quality to a level that will remove the advisory is between $7.3 and$12 million. Key Words:

Diving Demand for Large Ship Artificial Reefs

Using data drawn from a web-based travel cost survey, we jointly model revealed and stated preference trip count data in an attempt to estimate the recreational use value from diving the intentionally sunk USS Oriskany. Respondents were asked to report their: (i) actual trips from the previous year, (ii) anticipated trips in the next year, and (iii) anticipated trips next year assuming a second diveable vessel (a Spruance class destroyer) is sunk in the same vicinity. Results from several different model specifications indicate average per-person, per-trip use values range from $480 to$750. The “bundling†of a second vessel in the area of the Oriskany to create a multiple-ship artificial reef area adds between $220 and$1,160 per diver per year in value.Artificial reefs, diving, recreation demand, combined revealed and stated preferences, non-market valuation, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Marketing, Productivity Analysis, Public Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q26, Q50,

Oyster Demand Adjustments to Counter-Information and Source Treatments in Response to Vibrio vulnificus

A web-based contingent behavior analysis is developed to quantity the effect of both negative and positive information treatments and post harvest processes (PHP) on demand for oysters. Results from a panel model indicate that consumers of raw and cooked oysters behave differently after news of an oyster-related human mortality. While cooked oyster consumers take precautionary measures against risk, raw oyster consumers exhibit optimistic bias and increase their consumption level. Further, by varying the source of a counter-information treatment, we find that source credibility impacts behavior. Oyster consumers, and in particular, raw oyster consumers, are most responsive to information provided by a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization. Finally, post harvest processing of oysters has no impact on demand. Key Words: Oyster demand; consumer behavior; non-market valuation; Vibrio vulnificus; information treatments; source credibility; optimistic bias

Oyster Demand Adjustments to Counter-Information and Source Treatments in Response to Vibrio vulnificus

A web-based contingent behavior analysis was developed to quantify the effect of both negative and positive information treatments and post harvest processes on demand for oysters. Results from a panel model indicate that consumers of raw and cooked oysters behave differently after news of an oyster-related human mortality. While cooked oyster consumers take precautionary measures against risk, raw oyster consumers exhibit optimistic bias and increase their consumption level. Further, by varying the source of a counter-information treatment, we find that source credibility impacts behavior. Oyster consumers, and in particular, raw oyster consumers, are most responsive to information provided by a not-for- profit, nongovernmental organization. Finally, post harvest processing of oysters has no impact on demand.consumer behavior, information treatments, non-market valuation, optimistic bias, Oyster demand, source credibility, Vibrio vulnificus, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Q18, Q13, Q58,