RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Valuing Beach Quality with Hedonic Property Models
JF Land Economics
JO Land Econ
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 92
OP 108
DO 10.3368/le.87.1.92
VO 87
IS 1
A1 Landry, Craig E.
A1 Hindsley, Paul
YR 2011
UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/87/1/92.abstract
AB This paper explores the influence of beach quality on coastal property values. We hypothesize that beach and dune width provide local public goods in the form of recreation potential and storm/erosion protection, but services are limited by distance from the shoreline. Our findings support this hypothesis, as extending the influence of beach quality beyond 300 m from the shore generally results in statistically insignificant parameter estimates. For houses within this proximity bound, beach and dune widths increase property value. We argue that interpretation of marginal willingness to pay for beach quality depends upon individual understanding of coastal processes and expectations of management intervention. (JEL Q26, Q51)