Assessing public priorities for experiment station research: contingent value and public preferences for agricultural research

Laws concerning government accountability mandate that agencies weigh constituent interests in setting priorities. This study extends literature on the value of research by considering the public's stated preferences for scientist-effort allocated across an Agricultural Experiment Station'...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of agricultural economics 2004-11, Vol.86 (4), p.975-989
Main Authors: Swallow, Stephen K., Mazzotta, Marisa J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Agricultural economics
Agricultural management
Agricultural research
Agriculture
choice experiments
choice modeling
Economic research
Economic theory
Environmental quality
Experiments
Fish culture
Fisheries management
Fishery economics
Focus groups
Food safety
Funding
Government
government performance
Incentives
Modeling
Preferences
Public opinion
Q160
Q180
Questionnaires
Research centres
research funding
research incentives
Research methods
research priorities
research value
Studies
Utility functions
Valuation
Values
Willingness to pay
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Summary:Laws concerning government accountability mandate that agencies weigh constituent interests in setting priorities. This study extends literature on the value of research by considering the public's stated preferences for scientist-effort allocated across an Agricultural Experiment Station's research portfolio. Over 75% of respondents expressed a willingness-to-pay exceeding $20 per household for allocations of at least 139 scientist-months. The mean household is willing to pay about $25 for a 25% increase in effort. Marginal analysis identifies topic areas where an additional scientist-month provides above- or below-average benefits. The distribution of effort across research topics significantly affects respondents' values.
ISSN:0002-9092
1467-8276
DOI:10.1111/j.0002-9092.2004.00647.x