Allocation of Time and Risk of Lyme: A Case of Ecosystem Service Income and Substitution Effects

By IARC Communications | September 8, 2017
A wide, horizontal photograph showing a group of about a dozen people standing outdoors in a line along a grassy field. A thick forest of tall evergreen trees stands directly behind them, and distant blue mountains are visible on the far left under a partly cloudy sky. The individuals, dressed in casual outdoor clothing like jackets, jeans, and hats, appear to be listening to a man on the right who is pointing toward the left side of the frame.

Thursday, September 14, 2017 | 2:30pm, 401 Akasofu

Kevin Berry’s talk will discuss the following:

Forests are often touted for their ecosystem services, including outdoor recreation. Historically, forests were a source of danger and were avoided. Forests continue to be reservoirs for infectious diseases and their vectors—a disservice. We examine how this disservice undermines the potential recreational services by measuring the human response to environmental risk using exogenous variation in the risk of contracting Lyme Disease. We find evidence that individuals substitute away from spending time outdoors when there is greater risk of Lyme Disease infection.

On average, individuals spent 1.54 fewer minutes per day outdoors at the average, 72 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed cases of Lyme Disease. We estimate lost outdoor recreation of 9.41 h per year per person in an average county in the Northeastern United States and an aggregate welfare loss on the order $2.8 billion to $5.0 billion per year.