Measuring the Nonmarket Value of Massachusetts Agricultural Land: A Case Study

Abstract

Agricultural land provides a variety of " nonmarket" services to the Commonwealth, including wildlife habitat, scenic vistas, and recreation . This study utilizes an iterative bidding game to estimate willingness-to-pay of residents of three central Massachusetts counties to preserve state agricultural land. Through the use of these data, estimates of the value of these nonmarket amenities are derived so that a fuUer measure of the value of agricultural land can be obtained. This information may be useful to policy makers administering such programs as the Agricultural Preservation Restriction Act (Chapter 780) which are designed to arrest the conversion of Massachusetts farmland to urban uses.