University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2004 Value of open space attributes in Jamestown Rhode Island: An application of the choice experiment Abigail W. Anthony The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Anthony, Abigail W., "Value of open space attributes in Jamestown Rhode Island: An application of the choice experiment" (2004). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5280. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5280 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Maureen and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University of Montana Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. **Please check "Yes" or "No" and provide signature** Yes, I grant permission _____ X. No, I do not grant permission ___________ Author's Signaturej Date: - p H Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author’s explicit consent. The Value of Open Space Attributes in Jamestown, Rhode Island: An Application of the Choice Experiment By Abigail W. Anthony B.A. University of Montana, Missoula, 2002 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Masters of Arts The University of Montana 2004 Approved by Dean, Graduate School S-24-(W Date UMI Number: EP40744 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI EP40744 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Anthony, Abigail W., M.A., May 2004 Economics The Value of Open Space Attributes in Jamestown, Rhode Island: An Application of the Choice Experiment Director: Douglas Dalenberg This thesis estimates the value of attributes associated with open space in the town of Jamestown, Rhode Island. A variation of the contingent valuation method was used to estimate these values. This variation is called the choice experiment. In order to elicit the value that people place on open space attributes, Jamestown residents were mailed a survey which asked respondents to choose between three open space preservation options. Using the data, the value of incremental changes in the level of the attributes was estimated. Jamestown residents showed a strong preference to pay for parcels that are characterized by limited public access, are scenically unique, are farmland, and would be protected by purchasing the development rights from the landowner than for parcels characterized by full public access, are wooded areas, are not scenically unique, and have hiking trails and picnic areas. Indeed residents are willing to pay as much for 20 acres of the preferred open space as 120 acres at the alternative open space. In addition, Jamestown residents are also willing to pay $18.54 more for parcels that are surrounded by land that is currently undeveloped than for parcels located in residential areas. Table of Contents Abstract.................................................................................................................................... ii List of Graphs and Tables ...................................................................................................... iv List of Photographs and M aps ..............................................................................................vii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Conanicut Island, Rhode Island ........................................................................... 4 Chapter 3: Economic Valuation of Environmental Amenities ........................................... 27 Chapter 4: Existing Research ................................................................................................61 Chapter 5: Survey Design ..................................................................................................... 80 Chapter 6: Estimating a Model for the Choice Experiment ...............................................106 Chapter 7: Implications and Conclusions ...........................................................................125 Appendix A: Cover letter for preliminary survey ..............................................................130 Appendix B: Preliminary survey ........................................................................................131 Appendix C: Letter to Jamestown Town Council from Conanicut Island Land Trust ............................................................................................... 135 Appendix D: Cover letter for final survey ......................................................................... 136 Appendix E: Final survey ................................................................................................... 137 Appendix F; 02835 newspaper article ................................................................................141 Appendix G: The Jamestown Press newspaper article ......................................................143 Appendix H: Press release in 02835 and The Jamestown Press ....................................... 144 Appendix I: Follow-up postcard .........................................................................................145 Appendix J: Letter-to-the-editor in 02835 and The Jamestown Press ..............................146 Appendix K: LIMDEP program .........................................................................................147 Appendix L: LIMDEP program for Residency model .......................................................148 Appendix M: Respondent comments ...............................................................................149 Appendix N: Additional Respondent Information ..........................................................162 References......................................................................................................................... 178 iv List of Graphs and Tables Table 2.1: Employment Status 2000 ...............................................................................19 Table 2.2: Income Status 1999 ......................................................................................20 Table 2.3: Age, Gender, Race, and Education Attainment ......................................... 21 Table 5.1: Demographics of Preliminary Respondents ............................................... 84 Table 5.2: Open-ended Bid Responses .........................................................................85 Table 5.3: Survey Response Dates ................................................................................91 Table 5.4: Age Distribution of Survey Respondents ................................................... 92 Table 5.5: Gender Distribution of Survey Respondents ..............................................92 Table 5.6: Children of Survey Respondents .................................................................93 Table 5.7: Educational Attainment of Survey Respondents ........................................93 Table 5.8: Income Distribution of Survey Respondents ..............................................93 Table 5.9: Conservation Organization Membership .................................................... 94 Table 5.10: Full-time Residency. ................................................................................. 94 Table 5.11: Part-time Residency .................................................................................... 95 Table 6.1: Descriptive Statistics .....................................................................................110 Table 6.2: Maximum Likelihood Estimation Results ................................................... I l l Table 6.3: Prediction Success for the Discrete Choice Model ......................................I l l Table 6.4: Marginal Effects .............................................................................................114 Table 6.5: Willingness-to-pay for Parcel A and Parcel B .............................................. 116 Table 6.6: Annual and Total Payout for Different Land Types .....................................117 Table 6.7: Descriptive Statistics for Residency Variables............................................. 118 Table 6.8: Maximum Likelihood Estimation results for mixed model ......................... 119 Table 6.9: Willingness to pay: Residents