Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Choice data about recreational activities has usually been available for decisions made at a single point in time. Even when data has been collected over a long interval, analysis has generally ignored the impact of seasonality on the relative value of different attributes, treating all choices as the same. This paper looks at a panel of beach recreators from southern California and tests two possible reasons for seasonally changing preferences. We find that seasonal effects can have a substantial impact on the relative utility to the consumer of water quality and money.