Environmental economists have long used surveys to gather information about people’s preferences. This is particularly true in the field of non-market valuation, where techniques such as contingent valuation, choice modelling and the travel cost method invariably employ some form of survey instrument. A recent innovation in survey methodology has been the advent of web-based surveys. While popu...

This paper analyzes the effect that potential future availability of information has on willingness to pay in a contingent market characterized by uncertainty and irreversibility. In particular, I test whether the effect is consistent with the predictions of Zhao and Kling’s (forthcoming) theory of commitment cost. The analysis is performed using the results of a contingent valuation study desi...

Protest bids are often excluded during analysis of contingent valuation method data. It is suggested that this procedure might introduce significant bias. Protest bids are often registered by respondents who may actually place a higheror lower-than-average value on the commodity in question but refuse to pay on the basis of ethical or other reasons, Exclusion of protest bids may therefore bias ...

Income effects reported in contingent valuation (CV) studies tend to be much smaller than those found in the literature on collective choice. This disparity has received surprisingly little attention by environmental economists. The present study uses meta-analysis to explore determinants of the presence/absence of a significant income effect in a sample of CV surveys. The probability of signif...

This paper considers the effects for offering a "would-notvote" option in contingent valuation (CV) questions framed using the referendum format. This approach arises from a suggestion made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) panel on contingent valuation. The NOAA panel was asked to evaluate the use of this method for estimating the economic value of nonmarketed env...

This paper estimates the economic values of household preference for enhanced solid waste disposal services in Malaysia. The contingent valuation (CV) method estimates an average additional monthly willingness-to-pay (WTP) in solid waste management charges of €0.77 to 0.80 for improved waste disposal services quality. The finding of a slightly higher WTP from the generic CV question than that o...

Recently the number of contingent valuation studies conducted in developing countries has increased. Many have been done to value access to clean water, but there are still very few applications to tropical forest resources. In light of the fact that tropical forests cover a mere 7% of the earth’s land surface, yet provide estimates of up to half the world’s biota, there is a distinct need for ...

We conducted a field experiment comparing hypothetical and real purchase decisions for a pharmacist provided asthma management program among 172 subjects with asthma. Subjects received either a dichotomous choice contingent valuation question or were given the opportunity to actually enroll in the program. Three different prices were used: US$ 15, 40, and 80. In the hypothetical group, 38% of s...