Valuing Access to our Public Lands: A Unique Public Good Pricing Experiment



provided by Research Papers in Economics


VALUING ACCESS TO OUR PUBLIC LANDS:

A UNIQUE PUBLIC GOOD PRICING EXPERIMENT

May 31, 2007

David Aadland
Bistra Anatchkova
Burke Grandjean
Jason F. Shogren
Benjamin Simon
Patricia A. Taylor
1

Selected Paper prepared for presentation at the American Agricultural Economics Association
Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, July 29-August 1 2007

Abstract. We report the findings of a unique nation-wide experiment to price access to our public lands.
In 2004, the U.S. Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act mandated the creation of a new annual pass
to cover all federal recreation sites that charge an entrance or access fee. Our task was to assist federal
policymakers in determining an appropriate price for this new pass. Toward that end, we administered a
contingent valuation phone survey to over 3700 households to estimate households’ willingness to pay
(WTP) for the new pass at a variety of different prices. Our innovative experimental design allows us to
estimate the degree of hypothetical bias in the sample and calibrate our WTP estimates to reflect actual
purchasing decisions. In a sample of the general U.S. population - most of whom have little experience
with similar federal passes - respondents tend to greatly exaggerate their WTP for the pass when
contrasted with previous pass sales. A sample of recent pass purchasers, however, exhibits little bias.
This confirms recent research showing that market experience can be an effective means to mitigate
hypothetical bias.

1Author affiliations: Aadland is associate professor of economics at the University of Wyoming
([email protected]). Anatchkova is survey manager of the Wyoming Survey & Analysis Center (WYSAC) at the
University of Wyoming. Grandjean is executive director of WYSAC and professor of statistics and sociology at the
University of Wyoming. Shogren is the Stroock professor of economics at the University of Wyoming. Simon is
the acting assistant director for the Office of Policy Analysis, U.S. Department of the Interior. Taylor is professor of
sociology at the University of Wyoming. We thank Vic Adamowicz, Kerry Smith, Bruce Peacock and Kim Magraw
for their valuable comments. Copyright 2007 by [Aadland, Anatchkova, Grandjean, Shogren, Simon and Taylor].
All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any
means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies.



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