Measuring public preferences for the environmental amenities provided by farmland
利用焦点小组和调查数据，识别并比较了美国罗德岛居民对农田及其他开放空间环境舒适性的偏好，发现公众偏好保护农田，尤其是包含濒危物种栖息地和重要地下水的土地。
As farmland amenities have become relatively more scarce than food and fibre in developed countries, public concern has shifted away from increasing agricultural production, towards protecting rural environmental quality. Choosing appropriate policies requires accurate information describing public preferences for different amenities. This paper uses qualitative information provided by focus groups and survey data from a sample of Rhode Island (USA) residents, to identify and compare socially valued environmental amenities associated with farmland and open space. Public preferences for preserving farmland compare favourably with preferences for preserving other types of open space. Lands that include endangered species habitats and important groundwater resources are preferred. Copyright 1996 by Oxford University Press.