A structural equations approach to modeling consumptive recreation demand

In this analysis we develop a two equation structural model of a count travel cost model of recreational angling demand and angling success. By modeling the two equations jointly we avoid the difficulties associated with the usual approach which estimates the demand for recreational fishing sites assuming the existence of an exogenous measure of fishing quality. Our analysis explicitly develops the joint log likelihood function that combines the two processes. We estimate our model using full information maximum likelihood methods.