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A nonparametric random effects model for the valuation of forest recreation services: An application to forest sites in Tuscany, Italy

Pellegrini, Andrea; Lombardi, Ginevra Virginia; Scarpa, Riccardo; Rose, John M.

A nonparametric random effects model for the valuation of forest recreation services: An application to forest sites in Tuscany, Italy Thumbnail


Authors

Andrea Pellegrini

Ginevra Virginia Lombardi

John M. Rose



Abstract

This study assesses individuals' preferences for the use of forest sites for recreational purposes by means of the logit‐mixed logit (LML) model. The appeal of the LML is that the analyst does not need to assume any specific functional form for the mixing distributions of random preferences. The empirical analysis generates a data‐driven nonparametric representation of individuals' preference heterogeneity. We apply this approach to data collected using an unlabelled discrete choice experiment (DCE), consisting of three recreational options, two of which are in two hypothetical forest sites. Forest destinations are described by means of six attributes: forest type, signposting, hiking time, access to rivers or lakes, wildlife watch hides for visitors and cost of access. The empirical findings reveal that the signpost for each trail is the attribute for which respondents are on average willing to pay the most (6.565€). Further evidence suggests that respondents have strong positive preferences for those forest sites that offer amenities such as wildlife watch hides and access to rivers or lakes. Finally, the histograms derived from the semi‐parametric LML estimation reveal multimodality of random taste amongst respondents for different hypothetical forest sites.

Citation

Pellegrini, A., Lombardi, G. V., Scarpa, R., & Rose, J. M. (online). A nonparametric random effects model for the valuation of forest recreation services: An application to forest sites in Tuscany, Italy. The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8489.12557

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 11, 2024
Online Publication Date Feb 2, 2024
Deposit Date Mar 26, 2024
Publicly Available Date Mar 26, 2024
Journal Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Print ISSN 1364-985X
Electronic ISSN 1467-8489
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8489.12557
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2234359

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Licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright Statement
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.





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