Dichotomous choice contingent valuation probability distributions

Parametric distributions applied to dichotomous choice contingent valuation data invoke assumptions about the distribution of willingness to pay that may contravene economic theory. This article develops and applies distributions that allow the shape of bid distributions to vary. Alternative distributions provide little, if any, improvement in statistical fit from commonly used distributions. While median willingness to pay is largely invariant to distribution, estimates of mean consumer surplus diverge widely. Sensitivity analysis to determine benefit measure response to distributional assumptions is essential to prevent erroneous policy advice from applied dichotomous choice research.     

The citizen versus consumer hypothesis: Evidence from a contingent valuation survey

This paper examines the criticism of contingent valuation put forth by Blamey, Common and Quiggin ( Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics , 1995, vol. 39, pp. 264–288). They argue that households have consistent preferences over private goods but not jointly consistent preferences over public and private goods and, hence, contingent valuation cannot uncover meaningful responses for the valuation of public goods. In this paper we argue that the motives that are manifested in choices for public goods can be explained in two ways. One is the model of the citizen, proposed by Blamey et al . (1995). The second is a model of neoclassical preferences with altruism. Given these alternative and competing explanations of choices for public goods, what matters is whether they imply differences in willingness to pay for public goods. We provide statistical evidence from a contingent valuation study of the control of deer in the USA that there is no difference in willingness to pay between those who profess 'citizen' or altruistic preferences and the rest of the presumably purely private respondents.     

Recreational demand for farm commonage in Ireland: A contingent valuation assessment

This paper measures willingness to pay (WTP) for public access and trail improvements on commonage farmland for recreational walking in upland and lowland areas of Connemara region in the West of Ireland using the contingent valuation method (CVM). Common to both upland and lowland commonage sites was the much higher ranking for infrastructural features by those WTP for scenario implementation compared to those preferring the status quo. Results for those expressing a positive WTP reveal a median willingness to pay (MWTP) for formal access with improved trail infrastructure of €12.22 for the lowlands compared with €9.08 for the uplands.     

Ambivalent statements in contingent valuation studies: inclusive response formats and giving respondents time to think

A recent concern in the valuation literature is the uncertainty respondents feel when posed with willingness-to-pay questions for environmental amenities in hypothetical market scenarios. Using a multiple-bounded discrete-choice format, the results indicate that respondents become less ambivalent when allowed considerable time to think about the valuation task before a response is elicited. In particular they tend to reduce the reported willingness to pay associated with low certainty of paying, hence resulting in more conservative welfare estimates. Implications for the application of environmental valuation techniques are discussed.     

Assessing forest management strategies using a contingent valuation approach and advanced visualisation techniques: A Portuguese case study

The assessment of alternative forest management strategies should account not only for the private benefits to forest landowners but also for the ecological, environmental and economic benefits valued by society. There are a number of empirical valuation methods that may contribute to that assessment. These methods involve several steps: data acquisition, model specification and estimation. In this paper, this approach is illustrated in the context of a survey regarding alternative management strategies for a forest area in Central Portugal by implementing a contingent valuation experiment where an advanced landscape visualisation technique is employed to generate the visual information conveyed in the valuation scenarios. Several econometric model specifications are considered as well as alternative approaches to handle zero willingness to pay values and protest responses. The results obtained suggest the potential of the proposed approach for an effective comparison of alternative forest management strategies.     

Valuing New Zealand recreational fishing and an assessment of the validity of the contingent valuation estimates

This article presents estimates of the recreational value of fishing in New Zealand. The data was obtained from a large-scale interview conducted at boat ramps across New Zealand. The results suggest that the recreational value of a species depends critically on the motives for targeting a particular species. Species targeted for eating purposes have marginal values that appear to closely reflect the market price of the fish (i.e. the opportunity cost). In contrast, those species which are sought mainly for recreational purposes, have a higher value. Furthermore, values for these fish types were found to be greatest for scarce species and large species of fish. The article examines the robustness of the estimates to determine whether strategic bias, embedding effects or hypothetical bias influence the results.     

Designing a forest-energy policy to reduce forest fires in Galicia (Spain): A contingent valuation application

Recent issues of this journal have presented an interesting debate regarding forest fires in Galicia, Spain. This article proposes a forest-energy programme that will contribute to reducing the risk of forest fires in this Atlantic Region of Southern Europe. We apply the contingent valuation method to assess a programme whereby 10% of the electricity produced from coal, fuel oil and gas would be replaced by electricity generated in biomass power plants. The programme would begin implementation in 2005 and it would take 6 years (up to 2010) before we reach the 10% goal. The results show that Galician households are willing to pay a mean of 38 Euros per year. In addition, we have introduced an innovative procedure to detect protest responses related to the payment vehicle in a contingent valuation. Heckman's sample-selection procedure is used to analyse the WTP function.     

Using choice experiments to estimate consumer valuation: the role of experimental design and attribute information loads

With fixed dimensionality of choice experiments (CEs), previous simulation results show that D‐optimal design with correct a priori information generates more accurate valuation. In the absence of a priori information, random designs and designs incorporate attribute interactions result in more precise valuation estimates. In this article, Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the performances of different design strategies are affected by attribute information loads in CEs. Consumer valuation estimates in simulation settings vary with the number of attributes.     

Agricultural Payments and Land Concentration: A Semiparametric Spatial Regression Analysis

Over the last twenty years, both crop production and agricultural payments have shifted toward larger operations. This study examines whether payments from federal farm programs contributed to increased concentration of cropland and farmland. Using zip code–level data constructed from the microfiles of the 1987–2002 agriculture censuses we examine the association between government payments per acre and subsequent growth in land concentration. A semiparametric generalized additive model (GAM) controls for location and historical concentration, sales per acre, and ratio of cropland area to zip code area. Findings indicate, both with and without nonparametric controls, government payments are strongly associated with subsequent concentration growth.     

Non-market economic valuation in developing countries: Role of participant observation method in CVM analysis

Developing countries have high proportion of black money and related corruption in the society in comparison to the developed ones. This aspect has to be kept in mind while conducting contingent valuation method (CVM) questionnaire survey (in-person) at the site whose economic valuation is being done. Participant observation method (POM) and unstructured interview schedule (UIS) are the two means, which must be used in addition to structured interview schedule during CVM studies in developing countries to arrive at a reasonable non-market economic valuation figure of an environmental amenity. It has been observed that researchers generally ignore this fact during survey for primary data collection among respondents who are quite well off, educated and belong to countries of huge parallel economy. However in the present study, we have utilized these two means during primary data collection for a CVM study and reached the conclusion that CVM has to be used with caution even among educated masses in the developing countries.     

Non-market valuation of forest goods and services: Good practice guidelines

The European COST Action E45 on European Forest Externalities (EUROFOREX) participants developed a set of good practice guidelines for the non-market valuation of forests, elaborating on stated and revealed preference methodologies, as well as benefit transfer and meta-analytical procedures. This article presents a summary of the guidelines.     

Specification and Estimation of Production Functions Involving Damage Control Inputs: A Two-Stage, Semiparametric Approach

Productivity assessment of damage control inputs (such as pesticides) is complicated because their effect depends on the exposure to damage agents (such as pests). We discuss some open specification and estimation issues. The contribution is threefold. First, we elaborate the separability conditions for the damage control function and production function. Second, we employ a two-stage semiparametric technique to combine attractive features of both nonparametric and parametric approaches. Third, we model the interaction between pest exposure and damage control inputs by using slope dummies. An application to productivity analysis of small scale Bt cotton production in China illustrates the approach.     

后WTO时代中国水产养殖业的SWOT分析与战略选择

加入WTO后，我国水产品在获得更为广阔的国际市场的同时，也遭受到水产品进口国法律法规和技术性贸易壁垒对我国水产品出口设置的种种限制，在这种形势下，采用现代管理学上的SWOT方法对我国发展水产养殖业的内在优势和弱势，外在机会和威胁进行系统分析，并根据我国的具体情况提出了我国水产养殖业健康发展应采取的战略选择。     

Goal Programming: Potential and Limitations for Agricultural Economics

Recently, goal programming (GP) has been discussed in the literature as an alternative to linear programming, particularly in decision-making environments involving multiple objectives. In this paper we present an overview of the different GP formulations, their assumptions, limitations, and implications for agricultural decision making. Furthermore, a new insight into the interpretation of duality in GP is discussed. The concept of "standardized dual variables" which provides a more meaningful interpretation of shadow prices in GP is introduced. A simple but realistic farm agricultural planning example is used to illustrate the analysis.
Récemment, la technique de programmation appellée "goal programming" ou "GP" a été presentée dans la literature comme une alternative à la programmation Iinéaire, particulièrement dans les situations òu le procés de décision est basé sur plusieurs objectifs simultanés. Dans cet article nous présentons une vue génerale des différentes formes de la "GP;" leurs hypothèses de base. Ieurs limitations, et leurs implications pour le procés de decision agricole, une nouvelle intérpretation de la dualité en "GP" est proposée. En particulier, le concept de "variables duales standardisées" est introduit, ce qui permet une interpretation plus significative des prix de reference en "GP." Finalement. un exemple simple mais réaliste de planification agrcole a l' échelle d' une ferme est pour élucider utilisé l' analyse.     

Market power analysis in the retail food industry: a survey of methods

The present paper surveys various methods used to analyse market power in the retail food industry. The strengths and weaknesses of these approaches are explored and a review of the issues in using New Empirical Industrial Organization (NEIO) and time–series models is provided. The absence of a theory underlying time–series models is highlighted and a review of some theoretical models in retailing is presented. The impact of imperfect competition in the food processing sector on retailing is also examined. It is argued that a combination of the approaches that minimises the weaknesses and builds on the strengths of single approaches may prove more promising for examining non–competitive behaviour.     

Non‐market valuation: usage and impacts in environmental policy and management in Australia

An extensive literature exists on environmental nonmarket valuation research. It appears that results from these studies should be useful inputs to decision‐making about environmental policy or management. Here, we investigate the extent to which this occurs in practice in Australian environmental management bodies. Nonmarket valuation experts were surveyed about their studies that they believed to have influenced policy. Then, decision‐makers in environmental bodies were interviewed about the level of influence nonmarket valuation has had on their decisions. We find that researchers' perceptions of the influence that nonmarket valuation has on decision‐making are overly optimistic. Interviews with decision‐makers suggest that nonmarket valuation is little used in decision‐making. Indeed, the majority of them are unfamiliar with nonmarket valuation techniques. Nevertheless, once the concept was explained to them, many decision‐makers believed it could benefit environmental policy. Researchers' perceptions of the reasons for low usage of nonmarket valuation are largely inaccurate. We suggest a range of strategies that economists can use to promote the use of nonmarket valuation in environmental policy and management decisions, including ways to improve communication and engagement with decision‐makers, and strategies to increase the capacity for decision‐makers to use nonmarket valuation results.     

Temporal and spatial modelling of tropical deforestation: a survival analysis linking satellite and household survey data

We estimate a spatially explicit model of the forest clearance process among smallholder farmers in an agricultural frontier of southern Mexico. Our analysis takes as its point of departure a simple utility‐maximising model that suggests many possible determinants of deforestation in an economic environment characterised by missing or thin markets. Hypotheses from the model are tested on a data set that combines a time series of satellite imagery with data collected from a survey of farm households whose agricultural plots were geo‐referenced using a global positioning system (GPS). We implement a survival analysis to identify the effect of household level explanatory variables on the probability of deforestation. This approach allows us to introduce a measure of the time until clearance as a covariate, thereby affording a control for the effect of potentially important explanatory variables that vary through time but are not directly observable. In addition to identifying several variables relevant for policy analysis, including household demographics, proximity to roads, and government provision of agricultural support, model results suggest that the deforestation process is characterised by non‐linear duration dependence, with the probability of forest clearance first decreasing and then increasing with the passage of time.