Abstract
This paper reports the first attempt to measure the importance of controlling marine debris as an aesthetic characteristic of beaches and coastal area. The results are based on a contingent valuation survey designed to estimate the economic value people would place on controlling marine debris on recreational beaches in New Jersey and North Carolina. A Weibull survival modal was estimated treating for and against votes as defining censoring points for an unknown willingness to pay distribution. The findings suggest: (1) people do distinguish situations with differing amounts of debris when they are described using color photographs; (2) the pilot survey implies measures of people's willingness to pay (WTP) for debris control are consistent with a scope test in that larger WTP is associated with programs intended to address situations for more serious background levels of debris; and (3) local beach conditions seem to influence how people interpreted the plans describing beach conditions without the proposed control programs.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 223-247 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | Environmental and Resource Economics |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1997 |
Keywords
- Contingent valuation
- Marine debris
- Scope test
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Economics and Econometrics
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law