A Market-Based Approach for Valuing Ecosystem Services on Coastal Properties

As part of ongoing efforts to assess ecosystem services provided by wetlands, this research focuses on estimating the private monetary value of wetland services to residential property owners in Louisiana and Alabama using a hedonic price model. Understanding that tradeoffs must be made with limited resources, valuing ecosystem services is important for policy and decision making purposes, such as determining how much public and private financial resources should be put towards wetland maintenance and restoration. Data on property transactions, wetland coverage, and built infrastructure were collected for the analysis. Based on theory and results from a Box-Cox model, the log-linear functional form was the best fit for the data. Marginal implicit prices of services from wetland ecosystems were estimated using proximity variables. Most wetland proximity variables were statistically significant and indicative of preferences for different wetland types. Based on coefficient estimates, freshwater ponds were the only preferred wetland ecosystems to live in closer proximity to in Louisiana, while freshwater emergent wetlands were the only preferred wetland ecosystems in Alabama. Homeowners preferred living further from rivers in both Louisiana and Alabama. Results are consistent with the wetland service valuation literature from across the United States which used the property-price hedonic approach.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Agricultural Economics

Grantor

Agricultural Economics

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Savolainen, Michelle A.

• hedonic analysis
• wetlands
• ecosystem services

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Identifier

etd-05152015-141837
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1038

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.lsu.edu:gradschool_dissertations-2037