Using the Travel Cost Method to Value Environmental Education in the State of Oklahoma

Abstract

As a society, an integral part of improving environmental stewardship is accomplished through environmental education and training. Although public and private entities supported by grants and public funding provide a range of benefits, determining the economic value of the environmental education delivered is essential in quantifying the scope of its benefit. Data on this subject are limited; this study aims to address this gap. As a non-market good, evaluating education requires a non-traditional economic approach. One of the approaches offering a methodological value to evaluate environmental education is the Travel Cost Method (TCM), which belongs to the groups of non-market valuation approaches in the field of environmental economics. Traditionally, TCM has been used to assess the economic value of recreational sites. For the purpose of this study the TCM is applied to indirectly value environmental education by using the costs associated with travel as a proxy for what consumers pay to travel to educational events/trainings and what they would be willing-to-pay (WTP) in addition for the same educational experience if higher travel costs were to be incurred. Data collected via the distribution of surveys at environmental education and training events within the state of Oklahoma were incorporated into an econometric model and used to observe demographic predictors associated with a willingness to travel farther to access environmental education. To quantify the value of environmental education, the difference between the actual costs and WTP was assessed. This expressed valuation of environmental education is intended to assist in informed decision-making on allocation of monetary resources for agencies supported by grants and public funding.