WEAI/AERE 2009 - Individual Paper Abstract
Title: Valuing the Recreation Outings of Children
Author(s): Richard W. Dunford, Environmental Economics Services, LLC, Raleigh, NC; Randall S. Rosenberger, Department of Forest Systems & Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR (photo: Sierra hike, Greg Williams)
Abstract: Children participate in many outdoor recreation activities, such as beach use, fishing, pleasure boating, and sightseeing. How should their outings be valued in a benefit-cost analysis or a natural resource damage assessment? While most children enjoy outdoor recreation activities, is consumer surplus an appropriate concept for measuring the value of their enjoyment, especially for young children? Is the utility that children receive from recreation activities reflected in their parents' consumer surplus? If adults and children have different values for recreation activities, what is the age cutoff for distinguishing "adults" from "children?" The proposed paper will address these and other questions associated with valuing the recreation outings of children. We identify key issues for valuing the recreation outings of children and then will review the literature on those key issues, offering some preliminary conclusions on the key issues based on the literature to date. We then examine the implications for benefits transfer. Finally, we present our recommendations for future research to address unresolved issues.