Contingent Valuation: Controversies and Evidence

Contingent valuation (CV) has become one of the most widely usednon-market valuation techniques. CV's prominence is due to itsflexibility and ability to estimate total value, includingpassive use value. Its use and the inclusion of passive use valuein benefit-cost analyses and environmental lit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental & resource economics 2001-06, Vol.19 (2), p.173-210
Main Authors: Meade, Norman, Carson, Richard T, Flores, Nicholas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cost analysis
Cost benefit analysis
Decision making
Economic policy
Economic theory
Environmental law
Environmental policy
Estimates
Litigation
Market strategy
Natural resources
Studies
Valuation
Welfare economics
Wildlife sanctuaries
Willingness to pay
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Contingent valuation (CV) has become one of the most widely usednon-market valuation techniques. CV's prominence is due to itsflexibility and ability to estimate total value, includingpassive use value. Its use and the inclusion of passive use valuein benefit-cost analyses and environmental litigation are thesubject of a contentious debate. This paper discusses key areasof the debate over CV and the validity of passive use value. Weconclude that many of the alleged problems with CV can beresolved by careful study design and implementation. We furtherconclude that claims that empirical CV findings are theoreticallyinconsistent are not generally supported by the literature. Thedebate over CV, however, has clarified several key issues relatedto nonmarket valuation and can provide useful guidance both to CVpractitioners and the users of CV results. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2001
ISSN:0924-6460
1573-1502
DOI:10.1023/A:1011128332243