ABSTRACT We estimate the marginal benefits of increasing lifesavers and lifeguards for beach users in Australia and the United States. Visits, income, education, age, distance from a patrol, and willingness to swim on an unpatrolled beach explain willingness to pay but rivalry does not; snob and bandwagon effects prevail. By comparing benefits with costs, the levels of lifeguards and lifesavers in Australia were found to be underprovided, consistent with shared good theory. Increasing services provides greater net benefits to users but replacing volunteer lifesavers with paid lifeguards may not because volunteering brings broarder social benefits.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Economics
Research Group:	Applied economics
Research Field:	Public economics - publicly provided goods
Objective Division:	Economic Framework
Objective Group:	Other economic framework
Objective Field:	Other economic framework not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Blackwell, B (Dr Boyd Blackwell)
ID Code:	64064
Year Published:	2010
Deposited By:	NC Marine Conservation and Resource Sustainability
Deposited On:	2010-06-23
Last Modified:	2011-06-07
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