THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF BIRDWATCHING: A META-ANALYSIS AND SUMMARY OF STATED PREFERENCE STUDIES

Abstract

Abstract The economic value of birds in the United States and Canada has been measured using 27 stated preference surveys. Consumer Surplus per person, per day (CS_PPPD) ranges from a low of $0.29 (2020$) to a high of $824.53 over 442 observations, with a mean of $56.74. A fixed-effects regression analysis of consumer surplus shows that variation in CS_PPPD can be explained by a variety of method, resource, and context attributes. This provides economic value to the anthropocentric value of bird watching, wildlife viewing (where birds are included), and the potential for Benefit-Transfer to climate change policy using the models developed and values found in this meta-analysis.