JURNAL ECONOMINA
Vol. 5 No. 4 (2026): JURNAL ECONOMINA, April 2026

Economic Valuation of the Development and Maintenance of Merdeka Square in Malang City and Merjosari Park Using a Use Value Approach and Cost Benefit Analysis Method

Abdurrahman Muhyiddin (State University of Malang)
Farida Rahmawati (State University of Malang)



Article Info

Publish Date
29 Apr 2026

Abstract

Urban green open spaces (RTH) play a crucial role in supporting ecological balance and socio-economic development in rapidly growing cities. This study aims to analyze and compare the economic benefits of Alun-Alun Merdeka Malang City and Merjosari Park, and to evaluate whether the government’s development and maintenance costs are commensurate with the long-term benefits received by the community. This research employs a quantitative approach using the Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) method, incorporating Net Present Value (NPV), Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Payback Period (PP) with a 5% discount rate. Primary data were collected through the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) using a dichotomous choice approach to estimate Willingness to Pay (WTP), and analyzed using binary logistic regression. The results indicate that both RTH locations are economically feasible, with positive NPV, BCR > 1, and IRR exceeding the discount rate. Although the difference in WTP is relatively small (1.77%), Alun-Alun Merdeka generates approximately 205% higher total economic benefits due to having around 200% more visitors. Its IRR (34.32%) is significantly higher than Merjosari Park (8.93%), with a faster payback period. These findings imply that while all RTH investments are economically viable, city-scale green spaces yield higher economic returns, whereas neighborhood-scale parks remain essential for ensuring equitable social and environmental benefits.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

economina

Publisher

Subject

Economics, Econometrics & Finance

Description

JURNAL ECONOMINA (JE) is a peer-reviewed journal which publishes original research papers. ECONOMINA has been published since 2022. It is currently published every month a year with e-ISSN: 2963-1181. The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is assigned to each published article and the journal is ...