February 9, 2021
The Economic Benefits of Recreation in Canada
Okanagan Campus | 12:00pm–1:00pm
Canadians spend approximately 2.2% of the country's GDP on outdoor recreation, but we do not yet know the economic benefits people receive from participating in these activities. I provide the first ever comprehensive assessment of the economic benefits of outdoor recreation in Canada. I use a nationally representative survey of recreation behaviour on over 24,000 Canadians to estimate a Kuhn-Tucker demand model that accounts for substitution between activities and satiation in demand. The results demonstrate that participation in outdoor recreation provides Canadians with $98 billion in annual economic benefits, which is well over twice as large as reported expenditures. I also reveal substantial heterogeneity in recreation benefits across activities and regions in Canada.
Patrick Lloyd-Smith, is an Assistant Professor of Water and Resource Economics in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and a member of the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan.
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