Valuing watershed quality improvements using conjoint analysis

This paper reports on a study of valuation of multiple stream quality improvements in an acid-mine degraded watershed in Western Pennsylvania. A technique extensively used in marketing research, conjoint (CJ) analysis, is used in conjunction with a random utility model (RUM) to establish shadow valuations for various combinations of stream quality improvements in two streams. The technique shows promise in the valuation of ecosystems, which provide a complex variety of services. Several variations on respondent choice, binary choice (BC) and intensity of preference (IP) were used, where the latter allowed for an expression of degree of preference between status quo and alternative conditions. The sample constituted a panel data set from which user and non-user valuations were distinguished. In addition, sample respondents were identified by the distances of their residences to the stream sites, permitting the analysis of effects of distance on quality improvement valuations. These valuations suggested that persons living within roughly 50 miles of the evaluated stream segments place some positive value on stream improvements. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.