THE SUPPLY OF PUBLIC-ACCESS TO THE COUNTRYSIDE - A VALUE FOR MONEY AND INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF INCENTIVE POLICIES

A number of incentive schemes have recently been established which pay farmers and landowners for the provision of additional public access to the countryside. In this paper these schemes are subjected to a val ue of money (VFM) appraisal as a means of assessing the public benefit s from government and agency expenditures. The evidence indicates that such schemes typically produce variable but limited VFM, reflecting d eficiencies both in the quality of the access experiences provided and in the information flow to the public. Mechanisms for increasing effi ciency are discussed. The current expansion of public expenditure on a ccess, despite evidence of limited benefits to users, is analyzed by e xamining the positions of actors and interest groups within the policy process.