10.2190/KT54-E4DR-138Y-2EDE KT54E4DR138Y2EDE 1 The Economic Value of the Coastal Zone 279 301 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 KT54E4DR138Y2EDE.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=KT54E4DR138Y2EDE 4 Michael I. Luger University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill This article provides a methodology for estimating the economic value of the coastal zone. That methodology is used to construct estimates of "GNP-originating" in the coastal zone, in aggregate, and as a percent of individual coastal states' and national Gross National Product (GNP). The results are quite dramatic: in 1985, GNP-originating in the coastal zone totalled approximately $1.5 trillion, or some 31 percent of U.S. GNP. The coastal zone has become more important over time. Coastal states vary, however, in their economic reliance on their coastal zones. Even when states' required matches are included, the ratio of federal Coastal Zone Management Act spending to coastal GNP is almost 1:2000. Given the fragility of the coastal environment and its considerable importance to the U.S. economy, those ratios seem quite favorable and tilt in favor of continued spending on coastal zone management programs. D. R. Godschalk, Implementing Coastal Zone Management: 1972-1991, <i>Coastal Management, 20</i>, 1992. D. J. Brower, et al., <i>Evaluation of the National Coastal Zone Management Program</i>, National Coastal Resources Research and Development Institute, Newport, Oregon, 1991. Urban Land Institute, Research Division, <i>The Economic Benefits of Coastal Zone Management: An Overview</i>, The Urban Land Institute, Washington, D. C., March 1976. U. S. Department of Commerce, <i>The Economic Value of Ocean Resources to the United States</i>, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1974. U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, <i>Census of Manufactures, 1987</i>, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1989. U. S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, <i>Wetlands of the United States: Current Status and Recent Trends</i>, (National Wetlands Inventory), U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., March 1984. U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, <i>Census of Mineral Industries, 1984</i>, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1984. G. M. Pontecorvo, Contribution of the Ocean Sector to the United States Economy: Estimated Values for 1987—A Technical Note, <i>MTS Journal 23</i>:2, pp. 7-14, 1988. G. M. Pontecorvo, et al., Contribution of the Ocean Sector to the U. S. Economy, <i>Science, 30</i>, May 1980. J. G. Gosselink, E. P. Odum, and R. M. Pope, <i>The Value of the Tidal Marsh</i>, Center for Wetland Resources, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Publication LSU-SG-74-03, 1974. L. A. Shabman and S. S. Batie, Estimating the Economic Value of Coastal Wetlands: Conceptual Issues and Research Needs, <i>Estuarine Perspectives</i>, pp. 3-15, 1980. C. N. Raphael and E. Jaworski, Economic Value of Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation in Michigan's Coastal Wetlands, <i>Coastal Zone Management Journal, 5</i>, pp. 181-194, 1979. G. D. Lynne, P. Conroy, and F. J. Prochaska, Economic Valuation of Marsh Areas for Marine Production Processes, <i>Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 8</i>, pp. 175-186, 1981. A. M. Freeman, Valuing Environmental Resources under Alternative Management Regimes, <i>Resources for the Future Discussion Paper QE89-04</i>, 1988. B. E. Lindsey and H. C. Tupper, Demand for Beach Protection and Use in Maine and New Hampshire: A Contingent Valuation Approach, <i>Proceedings of Coastal Zone '89</i>, 1989. J. Silberman and M. Klock, the Recreation Benefits of Beach Renourishment, <i>Ocean and Shoreline Management, 11</i>, pp. 73-90, 1988. F. W. Bell and V. R. Leeworthy, <i>An Economic Analysis of the Importance of Saltwater Beaches in Florida</i>, Florida Sea Grant College, Tallahassee, Florida, Report Number 82, 1986. E. A. Wilman, Hedonic Prices and Beach Recreational Values, <i>Advances in Applied Microeconomics, 1</i>, pp. 77-103, 1981. G. D. Anderson and S. F. Edwards, Protecting Rhode Island's Salt Ponds: An Economic Assessment of Downzoning, <i>Coastal Zone Management Journal, 14</i>, pp. 67-91, 1986. G. E. Brown, Jr. and H. O. Pollakowski, Economic Valuation of Shoreline, <i>Review of Economics and Statistics, 59</i>:3, pp. 272-278, 1977. T. A. Terich and A. D. Gabriel, The Effect of Erosion on Coastal Property Values, <i>Proceedings of Coastal Zone '87</i>, 1987. U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, <i>SIC Classification Manual</i>, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1986.