Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Valuing Beach Width For Recreational Use Combining Revealed And Stated Preference Data, George R. Parsons, Michael K. Hidrue, Zhe Chen, Naomi Standing, Jonathan Lilley

George Parsons

Travel Cost Methods, George R. Parsons

George Parsons

No abstract provided.

Valuing The Visual Disamenity Of Offshore Wind Projects At Varying Distances From The Shore, Andrew D. Krueger, George R. Parsons, Jeremy Firestone

George Parsons

Several offshore wind power projects are under consideration in the United States. A concern with any wind power project is the visual disamenity it may create. Using a stated preference choice model, we estimated the external costs to residents of the State of Delaware for offshore wind turbines located at different distances from the coast. The annual costs to inland residents was $19, $9, $1, and $0 (2006$) for turbines located at 1, 3.6, 6, and 9 miles offshore. The cost to residents living on the ocean was $80, $69, $35, and $27 for the same increments.

Willingness To Pay For Electric Vehicles And Their Attributes, Michael K. Hidrue, George R. Parsons, Willett Kempton, Meryl Gardner

George Parsons

This paper presents a stated preference study of electric vehicle choice using data from a national survey. In our choice experiment, 3029 respondents chose between their preferred gasoline vehicle and two electric versions of their preferred gasoline vehicle. Using the response data we valued five electric vehicle attributes: driving range, charging time, fuel cost saving, pollution reduction, and performance. Driving range, fuel savings, and charging time led in importance to respondents. Individuals were willing to pay (wtp) from $35 to $75 for a mile of added driving range, with incremental wtp per mile decreasing at higher distances. They were willing …

Gauging The Value Of Short-Term Site Closures In A Travel-Cost Rum Model Of Recreation Demand With A Little Help From Stated Preference Data, George R. Parsons, Stela Stefanova

George Parsons

No abstract provided.

The Economic Value Of Viewing Migratory Shorebirds On The Delaware Bay: An Application Of The Single Site Travel Cost Model Using On-Site Data, Peter E T Edwards, George R. Parsons, Kelley A. Myers

George Parsons

We estimated a count data model of recreation demand using data from an on-site survey of recreational birders who had visited southern Delaware during the month-long annual horseshoe crab/shorebird spring migration in 2008. We analyzed daytrips only. Our estimates from the models ranged from $32 to $142/trip/household or about $131 to $582/season/household (2008$). The variation was due to differences in the value of time. The average household size was 1.66. We found that the valuation results were sensitive to the inclusion of covariates in the model. Our results are useful for damage assessments and benefit-cost analyses where birdwatching is affected.

The Uneasy Case For Subsidizing Energy Efficiency, George R. Parsons, Burton A. Abrams

George Parsons

An evaluation of cash for clunkers -- cars and appliances. It does not look good from an efficiency perspective.

Compensatory Restoration In A Random Utility Model Of Recreation Demand, George R. Parsons, Ami K. Kang

George Parsons

Natural Resource Damage Assessment cases often call for compensation in non-monetary or restoration equivalent terms. In this paper we present an approach that uses a conventional economic model, a travel-cost random utility model of site choice, to determine compensatory restoration equivalents for hypothetical beach closures on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Our focus is on closures of beaches on the Padre Island National Seashore and compensation for day-trip users. We use a mixed logit site choice model in our application with revealed preference data. Using the random utility model we identify restoration projects (changes in beach characteristics) that pass a …

Effects Of Information About Invasive Species On Risk Perception And Seafood Demand By Gender And Race, Timothy C. Haab, John C. Whitehead, George R. Parsons, Jamie Price

George Parsons

In this paper we consider the effects of negative and positive risk information on perceived seafood risks and seafood consumption by gender and race. The data is from a Mid-Atlantic survey of coastal seafood consumers. We elicit risk perceptions in three risk scenarios with a dichotomous choice with a follow-up question format. We elicit continuous revealed and stated preference seafood consumption in nine risk and price scenarios. Analysis in four gender and race categories indicates that demographic groups respond to the positive and negative information in different ways. Communication of risk information as risk mitigation policy is a challenge.

Measuring The Recreational Use Value Of Migratory Shorebirds: A Stated Preference Study Of Birdwatching On The Delaware Bay, Kelley H. Myers, George R. Parsons, Peter E T Edwards

George Parsons

In this article we estimate the recreational use value of household trips to view shorebirds during the annual horseshoe crab/shorebird migration on the Delaware Bay. We use contingent valuation to estimate the value of day and overnight trips separately and use a discrete choice question followed by a payment-card question to generate our valuation data. Our best estimates for the value of a day trip is about $66 - $90/household and for an overnight trip is about $200 - $425/household (2008$). Our data are from the 2008 season, and our average household size is 1.66. For some context, estimates from …

Valuing Beach Closures On The Padre Island National Seashore, George R. Parsons, Ami K. Kang, Christopher G. Leggett, Kevin J. Boyle

George Parsons

We estimate the economic loss due to hypothetical beach closures on the Padre Island National Seashore on the Gulf Coast of Texas. We consider the closure of the entire park, groups of beaches in the park, and for comparison, beaches elsewhere on the coast. We estimate a linked site choice/trip frequency model of day trips. The site choice model is estimated using multinomial and mixed logit. The trip frequency model is estimated using a negative binomial regression. Using the mixed logit model, the mean per-trip loss for the closure of all Padre beaches is about $20; the loss-to-trip ratio is …