Valuing US climate amenities for Americans using an hedonic pricing framework

Abstract

This paper estimates the marginal willingness to pay for climate amenity in the US using hedonic pricing and wage models. Research identifies that higher January temperatures are an amenity and households are willing to pay approximately US$5.90 ($2004) per month for a 1°F increase in the January temperature. Unlike the January temperature, higher July temperatures and precipitation are both disamenities, and households seek compensation of approximately US$5.46 ($2004) per month for a 1°F increase in July temperatures and approximately US$4.50 ($2004) per month for a 1-inch increase in precipitation.