An Expenditure Analysis of Residential Nonconsumptive Wildlife Recreation

Abstract

This study utilized cross-sectional data obtained from the 1991 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation to analyze individual's expenditures of residential nonconsumptive wildlife recreation at a regional level. In the process of selecting an appropriate model most consistent with consumer behavior associated with nonconsumptive wildlife recreation, the tobit model and the double-hurdle model for residential nonconsumptive wildlife recreation expenditures were evaluated. Based on the Lagrange multiplier test and the likelihood ratio test results, the double-hurdle model fit the data much better than the tobit model. The empirical results indicated that gender, employment status, ethnicity, wildlife (including birds, mammals, insects, and fish), maintaining natural areas for fish or wildlife, and visiting public parks or natural areas had a significant effect on residential nonconsumptive wildlife recreation expenditures. The results in this study provide insight into determinants of residential nonconsumptive wildlife recreation expenditures which can be used for planning and decision making purposes for natural resource management and nonconsumptive wildlife management.