Alternate Author Name(s)

Timothy Allen Deyak

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

1977

Keywords

Recreation, Research, Recreation areas

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Economics

First Advisor

V. Kerry Smith

Second Advisor

Alphonse G. Holtmann

Third Advisor

Kenneth V. Greene

Abstract

Outdoor recreation has become a major consumer activity in recent years, and current data suggests a steadily increasing use intensity for many recreation land areas. It is this increasing use intensity which leads to potential congestion problems and attendant management difficulties. In order to provide for a more efficient allocation of resources, public managers must be given information on consumer evaluations of recreation services. The objective of this research is to develop and test a model of consumer choice in which congestion affects the individual’s ability to produce a constant quality recreation service flow.

From the theoretical model we find that congestion will interfere with the individual’s production of the recreation final service flow, and will reduce the utility derived from the consumption of those service flows. The cost of congestion can thus be measured as the difference between the consumer’s utility when he is the sole participant and his utility when he must share with others. In a multiple user group setting, the generation and incidence of congestion costs to any individual will depend on the activity in which he participates and the activities chosen by other individuals. The optimal level of use will be defined as that level which maximizes aggregate net benefits and can be achieved through a pricing scheme in which congestion charges reflect the true marginal social cost of the consumption of the recreation service flow. The congestion charge will supplement the individual’s own cost with those costs imposed on others, and in a multiple use setting the price necessary to attain the optimum will thus depend on marginal and inframarginal activity choices.

Because of the additional complications for management which arise in the multiple use setting, it is the purpose of the empirical analysis to determine the importance of the potential differential congestion effects. What has been done is to examine the effect of total participation in a particular activity (as a measure of congestion) on an individual’s participation decisions for other types of recreation activities. In this way, we can observe whether congestion exhibits a differential impact across activity types. A two-step procedure was used for estimation purposes. This two-step method first explains the participation decision for all sample respondents, and second examines the determinants of the participation level for those who chose to participate. The participation decision is modeled using a linear probability function estimated with ordinary least squares techniques, while the participation level decision is modeled using structural demand and supply equations derived from the consumer choice model.

Using data obtained from the 1972 National Recreation Survey, the empirical analysis is aimed at providing evidence of possible differential congestion effects in four activities: remote camping, developed camping, hiking with a pack, and horseback riding. In general, we find that the results of the congestion tests are quite mixed, and because of the tentative nature of the empirical results, no strong conclusions can be reached as to the importance of differential congestion impacts in outdoor recreation. However, the results obtained in the probability equations do provide some support for the existence of differential effects.

The goal of this study was to provide information to enable decision-makers to make more efficient choices in rationing scarce recreation resources. The results of the study, while somewhat encouraging, also indicate the need for continued research.

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