The Economics of Recreation: A Survey.

Roger J. Vaughan

Expert InsightsPublished 1974

A discussion of the reasons for public provision of open space in an urban environment. Parks have become the responsibility of municipal and federal governments because of the importance of spatial and social externalities. The results of this have been irregular distribution of facilities, congestion due to underpricing, and the absence of direct evidence with which the value of open space can be estimated. Two benefit measurement techniques are discussed. One uses the relationship between travel costs and visit rate, and the other uses the increases in property values around a park. A model is developed that allows the consumer surplus earned by those living near a park, usually omitted from land-value estimates, to be computed. Other problems encountered when applying cost-benefit analysis to recreation projects are also analyzed. 159 pp. Bibliog.

Document Details

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Vaughan, Roger J., The Economics of Recreation: A Survey. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1974. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P5301.html.
BibTeX RIS

This publication is part of the RAND paper series. The paper series was a product of RAND from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.