Description
Return surplusPerVisit = -1/costCoefficient, totalSurplus = visits*surplusPerVisit and netSurplus = totalSurplus-fixedAccessCost.
Environmental valuation assigns monetary or credit quantities to a defined change using explicit factors. Area prices, exposure damages, income adjustments and ecological equivalences embody different assumptions; multiplying them does not validate those assumptions.
Return surplusPerVisit = -1/costCoefficient, totalSurplus = visits*surplusPerVisit and netSurplus = totalSurplus-fixedAccessCost.
When to use this tool
Use Recreation Visit Consumer Surplus Term when checking one declared valuation or equivalence contribution.
How to use the tool and how it works
- Enter visits, costCoefficient, fixedAccessCost. Use the units and conventions below.
- Run the tool. Correct any format, range, or cross-field input error before interpreting the output.
- Read surplusPerVisit, totalSurplus, netSurplus. Use the output convention below.
Require nonnegative visits and fixedAccessCost and strictly negative costCoefficient. Return surplusPerVisit = -1/costCoefficient, totalSurplus = visits*surplusPerVisit and netSurplus = totalSurplus-fixedAccessCost. costCoefficient is the natural-log visit-demand coefficient per currency unit for a semilog demand model.1
| Input field | Meaning and units | Accepted input |
|---|---|---|
| visits | Visits | Required. Finite number; minimum 0. |
| costCoefficient | Strictly negative semilog visit-demand coefficient per currency unit, not a price or elasticity. | Required. Finite number; strictly below 0. |
| fixedAccessCost | Fixed Access Cost | Required. Finite number; minimum 0. |
| Output field | Interpretation | Returned shape |
|---|---|---|
| surplusPerVisit | Surplus Per Visit | Required. Finite number. |
| totalSurplus | Total Surplus | Required. Finite number. |
| netSurplus | Net Surplus | Required. Finite number. |
{
"input": {
"visits": 1000,
"costCoefficient": -0.02,
"fixedAccessCost": 5000
},
"output": {
"surplusPerVisit": 50,
"totalSurplus": 50000,
"netSurplus": 45000
}
}Limitations and assumptions
- The coefficient must come from an appropriate estimated model, not a price or elasticity substituted directly. This model-specific surplus term does not estimate demand, address substitute sites or establish a complete welfare measure.
- Inputs must satisfy both the field types and the cross-field conditions above. Invalid input causes an error; a successful false flag or documented placeholder is a different result.
- Numeric calculations use binary floating point unless exact decimal-integer arithmetic is explicitly stated. No hidden measurement tolerance or decimal rounding is added; nonfinite or out-of-contract results are rejected. Numeric signed-zero results are exported as zero.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Use an appropriate empirical model and examine transferability, causal attribution and double counting before interpreting a complete environmental benefit estimate.
References
Similar or alternative tools
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