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The Effects of Climate on Leisure Demand: Evidence from North America

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  • Chan, Nathan
  • Wichman, Casey

    (Resources for the Future)

Abstract

There is extensive research documenting the economic consequences of climate change, yet our understanding of climate impacts on nonmarket activities remains incomplete. Here, we investigate the effect of weather on leisure demand. Using data from 27 million bicycle trips in 16 North American cities, we estimate how outdoor recreation responds to daily weather fluctuations. Combining these estimates with time-use survey data and climate projections, we project annual surplus gains of $894 million from climate-induced cycling by mid-century. Extrapolating to a broad measure of outdoor recreation, our back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest climate-induced benefits of $20.7 billion per year.

Suggested Citation

  • Chan, Nathan & Wichman, Casey, 2017. "The Effects of Climate on Leisure Demand: Evidence from North America," RFF Working Paper Series 17-20, Resources for the Future.
    • Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-17-20
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    File URL: https://www.rff.org/documents/1792/RFF20WP2017-20-REV.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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