Modelling recreation demand with respondent-reported driving cost and stated cost of travel time: A Finnish case

As the price of recreational visits is unobservable and commonly represented by researcher-assigned travel cost estimates, welfare change estimates generated by the travel cost method are ordinally measurable (Randall, 1994). For a potential solution to the resulting calibration problem we use respondent-reported driving costs and the stated cost of travel time, measured by willingness to pay to reduce travel time, to represent the individual trip price. On-site data from a hiking area in Finland are used. After considering visitors’ perceptions of driving cost and travel time, models with individual driving costs and stated cost of travel time are compared to standard specifications based on a uniform rate of driving cost and wage-based time cost. The use of respondent-reported driving costs appears to be a working approach for calibrating the benefit measures. The stated cost of time was logically related to visitor and trip characteristics and had plausible effects on benefit estimates.     

Testing for convergent validity between travel cost and contingent valuation estimates of recreation values in the Coorong,Australia*

A number of studies valuing recreation have shown that the travel cost method (TCM) generates higher estimates of value than the contingent valuation method (CVM), even though the latter is commonly associated with potential problems of hypothetical and strategic bias. In this study, both methods have been used to estimate the recreational values associated with the Coorong on the Murray River in south‐eastern Australia. Values per adult visitor per recreation day are estimated with the TCM at $149 and with the CVM at $116. A number of methodological and framing issues to explain these value differences are tested. In summary, while no single methodological or framing issue could be identified that would reconcile the difference between TCM and CVM values, it appears likely that there may be a combination of factors that drive the systematic variations in consumer surplus values. The evidence in this study suggests that the most important of these are likely to be the different decision points underpinning data collection and the consideration of substitute sites, strategic responses and the treatment of uncertain responses within the CVM.     

Valuing Australian botanic collections: a combined travel‐cost and contingent valuation study*

Economic values of biological collections in three Australian botanic gardens in Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney were estimated using the travel‐cost method (TCM) and the contingent valuation method (CVM). The TCM component of the study produced average per‐trip consumer surplus (CS) values of $39 and $18 for single‐ and multiple‐site visitors, respectively, for each botanic garden, resulting in an estimate of approximately $194 million for the total social welfare generated by trips to the three sites. Marginal willingness to pay (WTP) for access to botanic gardens was also investigated through payment vehicles of entry fees or higher parking charges using the CVM component. The analysis revealed a positive mean WTP of between $3 and $5 per trip per person. The difference between the CVM and TCM results reflect the different underlying concepts of value under investigation: average CS per visit for the TCM and the utility arising from a marginal visit for the CVM. Marginal changes in CS from the TCM were derived. The confidence intervals from the TCM marginal values overlap the WTP estimates from the CVM. These findings will be useful for resource management decisions in the botanic gardens collection in Australia.     

福州国家森林公园森林景观游憩效益评价

本文针对森林景观具有部分公共商品的特性 ,将TCM法 (即旅行费用法 )的基本原理与方法引入到森林景观游憩效益的评价中来 ,对福州国家森林公园的森林景观的游憩效益进行评价 ,得到其景观游憩效益为 3 .92 0 6 1 4亿元。     

VALUING RURAL RECREATION BENEFITS: AN EMPIRICAL COMPARISON OF TWO APPROACHES

Two methodologies for valuing non-market benefits (contingent valuation and the travel cost method) are briefly described. Both are then applied to the problem of valuing non-market recreation benefits derived by visitors to a part of the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park in Central Scotland. Results, in terms of consumer surplus estimates, are presented for each method, and problem areas found in applying the two methodologies are pointed out.     

Does ignoring multidestination trips in the travel cost method cause a systematic bias?

The present paper demonstrates that treating multidestination trips (MDT) as single-destination trips does not involve any systematic upward or downward bias in consumer surplus (CS) estimates because the direct negative effect of a price increase (treating MDT as a single-destination trip) is offset by a shift in the estimated demand curve. Still, ignoring MDT can greatly underestimate or overestimate the CS. In addition, we demonstrate that there is a sound theoretical basis for using preference information for allocating travel costs between different sites included in the MDT package. A novel extreme value approach is proposed, which does not require any overly restrictive assumptions about consumer preferences. This approach is applied to the zonal travel cost model of the Bellenden Ker National Park, Australia. Parametric and non-parametric estimation techniques are used for calculating CS estimates, and the effects of different MDT treatments and estimation methods are compared.     

矿粮复合区资源多用途选择的探讨

研究目的:探讨矿粮复合区资源利用社会整体效益最大化的途径。研究方法:根据科斯社会成本理论对矿业开发准入进行分析。研究结果:不存在某种绝对的资源利用优先权,资源用途选择的法经济学标准是对资源利用机会、环境和社会成本效益的全面评价。研究结论:构建RSECBA评价体系,完善资源利用准入机制,创造非战略性矿产资源领域矿业权人与土地使用权人合作博弈的市场环境,将有利于提高资源利用效益,保障失地农民利益,保证矿山土地复垦、环境恢复资金来源。     

ULYSSES REVISITED — A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SAFE MINIMUM STANDARD RULE

The Safe Minimum Standard (SMS) Rule has been developed as a decision rule involving environmental assets, particularly species, that face some risk of extinction. The SMS rule has been presented by Bishop (1978) (1979) and Randall (1991) as a better decision process than the use of cost benefit analysis (CBA). This paper explores the relationship between the SMS rule and CBA. It shows that there is a tandem effect in operation because the use of both rules rely on the same underlying preferences in society. There is potential for the two rules to achieve the same results, and doubt over whether the SMS rule is an independent control over CBA. Instead, the SMS rule may simply operate as a nagging mechanism for issues of particular interest. Its use can be seen as a signal to switch to a more intensive examination of costs and benefits, and justified in this format because the benefits of more accurate decisions outweigh the costs of operating the SMS rule. The application of the SMS rule will vary according to the justification for its use.     

Road connectivity,population, and crop production in Sub‐Saharan Africa

This study adopts a cross‐sectional spatial approach to examine the relationship between transport infrastructure, population location, and agricultural production in Sub‐Saharan Africa using new data obtained from geographic information systems (GIS). We find that both population and agricultural production are spatially concentrated near large cities, with 41.4% of population and 23.6% of agricultural production (in value terms) within 2.5 hours travel time to large cities. Taking into account agroecological and other factors, we find a statistically significant association between travel time and agricultural production. Using coefficients estimated for Mozambique, we simulate the effects of hypothetical increases in road investments on travel times and agricultural production, suggesting that improvements in road infrastructure could facilitate a substantial increase in agricultural production.     

汶川地震灾区绿色旅游发展研究

绿色旅游是旅游业发展过程中在外生因素诱导下的内生的动态创新。根据绿色旅游的内涵,汶川地震灾区绿色旅游系统主要包括绿色旅游供给、绿色旅游中介以及绿色旅游需求3个子系统。绿色旅游资源与环境的恢复和保护性利用以及绿色旅游市场的恢复和开拓,是当前地震灾区绿色旅游业发展的所要解决的核心问题。而解决这些问题的基本路径就是旅游产品开发、旅游制度安排和旅游市场运作的创新。     

MEASURING FARM INCOME UNDER CONDITIONS OF INFLATION: THE GAINS FROM BORROWING

Progress made in applying the principles of Current Cost Accounting (CCA) to measuring farming income is reviewed. Attention is focussed on the absence of any adjustment to farming income figures to incorporate the gains accruing from borrowing where the real burden of debt is eroded by inflation. A procedure based on deducting implied real interest charges, instead of nominal interest payments, is proposed. Revised values for U.K. farming income are estimated for the years 1974 to 1980. The revised figures range from values for income which are 29% greater than values which exclude the gains (or losses) from borrowing to values which are 25% lower.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: Resource Economics: An Economic Approach to Natural Resource and Environmental Policy by Alan Randall. Grid Series in Agricultural Economics. Agricultural Statistics: Handbook for Developing Countries by N.M. Idaikkadar. Christmas Turkey or Prairie Vulture? An Economic Analysis of the Crow's Nest Pass Grain Rates by David R. Harvey.     

环巢湖大旅游区开发的战略构想

安徽省的旅游业发展较快,皖南、皖北都正在形成各自风格和特色的规模化旅游区域,而具有旅游资源、环境和区位优势的皖中地区,特别是巢湖周边地区却是门前冷落;在分析巢湖旅游资源、区位等的基础上,应对当前旅游业发展的态势,提出建环巢湖大旅游区的构想,来振兴皖中旅游业,以适应安徽旅游发展的总体需要。     

银杏旅游客源市场结构及游客行为特征实证研究——以广东南雄市为例

对广东南雄市银杏旅游者的抽样调研发现,银杏已经成为特定地区城乡居民专程探访的旅游客体,其客源市场主要分布在300 km范围之内的大中城市,具有高集中和低稳定特征。银杏旅游市场群体构成以青年学生、教师和各类企业人员为主体,高学历或高收入特征明显,未婚女性群体所占比例最大。在旅游行为方面,银杏游客以休闲放松、观赏银杏景观和拍摄银杏美景为主要动机,自驾游、结伴旅、周末游、大众游等特征明显,重游意向和推荐意愿均与其满意度正相关。     

Parking behaviour: The curious lack of cruising for parking in San Francisco

Cruising for parking has long been perceived as a major source of congestion and emissions in urban areas, but recent empirical work suggests that parking may not be as onerous as folklore suggests, and that the amount of vehicle travel attributable to cruising is minimal. In this paper, we reconcile these perspectives through a dynamic programming model of parking search, and empirical insights from a large-scale GPS dataset in San Francisco and the California Household Travel Survey. We first draw a conceptual distinction between parking search, the time between the driver’s decision to park and when a parking space is taken; and cruising, defined as excess vehicle travel due to parking search. In places with little or no through traffic, up to half of traffic can be searching for parking, but cruising can be zero. We then operationalize this distinction through a dynamic programming model. The model predicts that when parking is perceived to be scarce, drivers are more willing to take a convenient available space, even if it is some distance from their destination. Counter-intuitively, scarce parking can even suppress vehicle travel as perceived parking scarcity leads drivers to stop short of their destinations and accept a longer walk. Empirical data from California indicate that neighborhood density (a proxy for parking availability) has little impact on cruising for parking, but increases walk distances from parking locations to final destinations. We conclude that cruising for parking is self-regulating, and that in certain circumstances parking scarcity can even reduce vehicle travel.     

地质调查项目作业成本管理研究

将作业成本管理的原理引入地质调查项目成本管理,要在分析地质调查项目生产过程的基础上确立作业成本中心,将资源成本通过资源动因追溯到作业,再将作业成本通过作业成本动因追溯到地质项目等成本对象,建立起"从资源到作业,从作业到地质项目"的计算体系,并对作业成本进行分析与控制,挖掘成本动因,不断改进作业完成的次序,提高地勘单位的成本管理水平。     

森林旅游者的全球气候变暖认知及低碳出行意向

基于在海南省火山口国家级森林公园的调查数据,根据环境态度,运用K-Means聚类法将旅游者划分为近生态中心主义者和近人类中心主义者。采用独立样本t检验,比较持不同环境态度的旅游者全球气候变暖认知及低碳出行意向上的差异。结果显示:⑴前往海南火山口国家级森林公园的旅游者以近生态中心主义者居多;与近人类中心主义者相比,近生态中心主义者中女性所占比例较高,学历也较高。⑵近生态中心主义者对全球气候变暖致因、气候变暖认知、后果意识及其与旅游业之间的关系等方面的认知显著高于近人类中心主义者。⑶近生态中心主义者为减少温室气体排放而选择低碳出行方式的意向显著高于近人类中心主义者。因此,加强环境教育,有助于旅游者低碳出行,进而减少旅游业对气候变暖的负面影响。     

A Sequential Choice Alternative to the Travel Cost Model

The travel cost model is the standard model used in the recreation demand area. This model assumes that the decision on the number of trips in a given time period (a season, for example) to a particular site is determined at the beginning of the time period. For certain types of recreation activity, it may be better to model the decision to take a trip to a given site as a function of the outcome of previous trips and the realization of random variables on previous trips (as well as travel and time costs). The spatial choice behavior itself may be sequential in nature rather than continuous. In this paper, a model is developed which specifies the choice of a discrete number of sequentially chosen trips to a given site as a function of site-specific variables and values realized on previous trips. This model improves upon the existing travel cost model by specifying discrete integer values for the number of trips, developing an explicit relationship between trips taken and the number of days spent on each trip, and allowing intra-seasonal effects to determine the probability of taking an additional trip. A comparison is made between the traditional travel cost model estimates of consumer's surplus and the estimates from this sequential discrete choice model.     

千岛湖区游憩资源的开发与利用

为加快发展游憩产业,适应经济社会快速发展新形势和内部转型升级的要求,在阐述游憩内涵基础上,结合千岛湖旅游发展现状,分析了千岛湖游憩资源及其观光、康体、娱乐、文化、农业等游憩产品谱,认为全方位、多途径发展千岛湖游憩产业势在必行,并提出千岛湖区游憩资源开发利用与文化内涵挖掘、国有林场发展、新农村建设、生态环境保护相结合的发展策略。     

Estimating values for recreational fishing at freshwater dams in Queensland*

In this paper, estimates of value for recreational fishing are reported for three major freshwater impoundments in Queensland, Australia, using both travel cost and contingent valuation methods. Policy analysts often require estimates of value when analysing the importance of recreation against other uses of impoundments, or when considering the potential for further investments, such as with fish stocking programs. Different forms of the travel cost method are used to estimate separate consumer surpluses associated with two key subgroups of recreational anglers: frequent and occasional anglers. A contingent valuation study is used to estimate the marginal values associated with a potential improvement in fishing experience. The results of the travel cost analysis provide strong evidence that recreational values vary between different groups of anglers and across sites, while the contingent valuation estimates provide values for additional marginal benefits of recreational angling.