Valuing Australia’s protected areas: A life satisfaction approach

Abstract

This paper uses the life satisfaction approach to value Australia's protected areas, grouped by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categories. We find significant positive life satisfaction effects of living in close proximity to protected areas in three of the seven categories. These life satisfaction effects correspond to implicit willingness-to-pays, in terms of annual household income, ranging from AUD$2950 to AUD$9650 for a 1% increase in the extent of that category of protected area within an individual's local area. This study therefore provides insights for policy makers in estimating the benefits of non-market goods provision.