Attachment Value And Farmland Prices: An Empirical Investigation

This study examines the role that attachment value plays in the formation of a willingness to accept price (WTA) for farmland. Attachment value is defined as the estimated or assigned worth of a socio-emotional good that binds one person or group to a physical object. The objective of this study is to determine if a differential exists between the market or assessed farmland price and the price a farmland owner would accept from a strange. Further this study aims to determine if attachment value has an affect on this differential. Qualitative evidence strongly supports the hypothesis that attachment value to farmland affects the WTA and that variables such as length of ownership tenure, family closeness, and community closeness affect the level of attachment value. The quantitative results provide evidence that there is a significant differential between the WTA and the assessed price and further that family closeness and education levels are significant in explaining the differential. An alternative survey instrument to more effectively explore the issue of farmland values and attachment values is presented in appendix 1.