TESTING THE CONVERGENT VALIDITY OF CONTINGENT VALUATION AND TRAVEL COST METHODS FOR VALUING THE RECREATIONAL

This research study explores the convergent validity among the contingent valuation (CVM) and travel cost (TCM) methods specifically in the context of recreational fishing, using 1996 New York Freshwater Fishing Survey data. A three-level nested Logit model was applied to the TCM data to estimate the angler day consumer surplus value, which is then compared to estimates obtained from an open-ended CVM question. The daily surplus value estimated by TCM is $41.39, greater than the CVM estimates of ( ), but the difference was relatively small compared to other studies. These findings are supported by a number of well-cited researches discussed briefly in this study. The anglers fished a total of 18.606 Million days in 1996 hence generating an annual surplus value of $770.14 Million, based on the estimated daily surplus value of travel cost method. The nested-logit model was also tested for sensitivity analysis and found to be stable across additional explanatory variables