Bid Design Effects in Multiple Bounded Discrete Choice Contingent Valuation

A potential concern in multiple bounded discrete choice contingent valuation surveys – where the respondent is asked to express voting certainty, rather than a simple yes or no, on a large number of payment amounts (bids) – is whether responses are influenced by the particular position of bids in the bid-voting panel rather than solely on the respondents willingness to pay (WTP). For instance, respondents may systematically state they would pay the first few bid amounts and not pay all subsequent bids – regardless of the actual dollar values. Such systematic bid design effects would suggest that this method does not provide a valid measure of WTP. Using a split-sample survey, we compare responses to three different bid arrays that have an identical minimum bid, maximum bid, and number of bids. Using nonparametric estimation techniques, we find that estimated WTP distributions and corresponding welfare measures are not statistically different across survey samples.     

Modelling Heterogeneity and Uncertainty in Contingent Valuation: an Application to the Valuation of Informal Care

Both the lack of market data and the need to adopt a more holistic approach in the valuation of non‐market activities within health care have pointed towards the use of contingent valuation (CV) methods. However, to date, few studies have employed such techniques to value informal care, despite its provision being an important public policy question. We propose an analytical framework that through the use of random parameters models and respondents' certainty scales can incorporate both unobserved and observed heterogeneity in the CV modelling. This is the first CV study of informal care for Scotland (UK) and a £7.68 per hour value is estimated.     

Contribution of Contingent Valuation and Other Stated Preference Methods to Evaluation of Environmental Policy

Some form of stated preference method is essential for comprehensive evaluation of environmental policy options. The two most important stated preference methods are contingent valuation (CV) and choice modelling. I identify and discuss the major challenges facing CV and choice modelling researchers. Choice modelling applications to environmental valuation are comparatively recent, so the emphasis in this paper is on the more extensive body of CV research. The development of CV has been characterised by a (generally) constructive debate both within the economics profession, and between economists, philosophers, psychologists and other social scientists. As a result, much has been learnt about the nature of non-market economic values and how they might be measured. Important issues are the extent to which existing stated preference methods accurately represent individuals' values, and provide valid and reliable measures of changes in economic welfare. I review each of these issues in the light of recent theoretical and empirical work, identify the major outstanding problems, and indicate areas where progress is being made. I argue that the problems are solvable, and that eventually a theoretically sound and empirically effective method will be developed.     

The Worth of a Possum: Valuing Species with the Contingent Valuation Method

The focus of this paper is on methods of assessing the value peopleplace on the conservation of species for use in policy making. Of principalinterest is the relatively new methodology of contingent valuation, whichis a method for asking people directly about their preferences. The paperpresents an application of the contingent valuation method to theconservation of an endangered species in the State of Victoria, Australia.The results emphasise the importance of careful survey design,implementation and analysis as well as the precise definition of theenvironmental good being valued. Consequently, the contingent valuationmethod does provide information relevant to decision making processesbased on monetary economic considerations. Thus, in orthodox economicterms it makes sense to conserve species – but there are other moral andethical grounds for conserving species as well.     

意愿调查法在我国遗产资源价值评价领域的应用与研究进展

从中国知网选取97篇相关论文作为样本,从研究领域、主要发表期刊、所属学科、具体研究内容、研究过程、关键技术等方面进行了统计分析,对使用CVM在遗产价值评价方面的研究进行了梳理、述评,并对当前研究中存在的问题进行评析,旨在明晰CVM在遗产资源价值评价中的研究现状及发展进程.     

The Economic Value of Air-Pollution-Related Health Risks in China: A Contingent Valuation Study

The economic value of preventing adverse health effects related to air pollution is estimated using contingent valuation in three diverse locations in China. Values are estimated for three health endpoints: cold, chronic bronchitis, and fatality. Alternative statistical models are tested to study their impact on estimated willingness to pay (WTP) and on the relationship between WTP and respondent characteristics. Using the official exchange rate, the sample-average median WTP to prevent an episode of cold ranges between US$3 and US$6, the WTP to prevent a statistical case of chronic bronchitis ranges between US$500 and US$1,000, and the value per statistical life ranges between US$4,000 and US$17,000. Estimated mean values are between two and thirteen times larger. Our estimates are between about 10 and 1,000 times smaller than estimates for the US and Taiwan using official exchange rates. Indoor air quality, measured for a subset of respondents, shows no consistent relationship with WTP.     

Improving the Performance of Contingent Valuation Studies in Developing Countries

This paper discusses three main reasons why so many of the contingentvaluation studies conducted in developing countries are so bad. First,the contingent valuation surveys themselves are often poorly administeredand executed. Second, contingent valuation scenarios are often very poorlycrafted. Third, few CV studies conducted in developing countries aredesigned to test whether some of the key assumptions that the researchermade were the right ones, and whether the results are robust with respectto simple variations in research design and survey method. The paper concludesthat research on stated preference methods in developing countries iscritically important to the successful implementation of these methodsbecause (1) there is no empirical evidence to suggest that rapid,”streamlined” CV surveys yield reliable, accurate results, and (2)there is a significant risk that the current push for cheaper, simplerCV studies could discredit the methodology itself. Moreover, the policydebates to which CV researchers are asked to contribute are often oftremendous importance to the well-being of households in developingcountries. Because the costs of policy mistakes can prove tragic, itis critical that VC researchers push for excellence in this researchenterprise and that funding agencies think more carefully about thevalue of policy-relevant information in the fields in which thecontingent valuation method is being used to study household preferencesand behavior (e.g., water and sanitation services, urban air pollution,soil erosion, deforestation, biodiversity, watershed management,ecosystem valuation, vaccines for the poor).     

A Contingent Valuation Estimate of the Benefits of Wolves in Minnesota

In this paper we estimate the willingness topay for a wolf management plan and a wolfdamage plan in Minnesota using the contingentvaluation method. The theoretical definition ofwillingness to pay for wolf protection iscomposed of use and non-use values. Weincorporate a don't know response option in thedichotomous choice valuation questions. A largenumber of respondents answered don't know. Themultinomial logit model is used todifferentiate between don't know and noresponses. Non-use motives are importantfactors that explain willingness to pay. We usethese benefit estimates in combination with twoalternative cost estimates to consider theefficiency of the wolf management and damageplans. Both plans have estimated benefitsgreater than costs.     

Evaluating the Validity of the Dichotomous Choice Question Format in Contingent Valuation

Hypothetical and actual cash willingness to pay (WTP) for an art print were elicited with dichotomous choice and open-ended question formats. Comparing hypothetical and actual dichotomous choice responses using both a likelihood ratio test and the method of convolutions suggests we reject equality at the 0.05 but not the 0.01 level. Hypothetical WTP was roughly two times actual WTP with the dichotomous choice format. There were no significant differences between the open-ended and dichotomous choice question formats when both were used to estimate hypothetical WTP or both used to estimate actual WTP.     

Trust, Responsibility and the Interpretation of Contingent Valuation Results

Responses to contingent valuation questionnaires are contingent on respondent perceptions of trust and responsibility regarding aspects of the scenario presented to them. These issues can influence CV responses in several ways, with the net effect on WTP estimates depending on the relative prevalence of the different opposing effects in a given application. Whether such effects are to be considered biases, to be removed where possible, depends on the notion of validity one adopts. Whilst issues of trust and responsibility may pose little threat to predictive notions of validity, they are more problematic from a surplus validity, cost-benefit, perspective. Further discussion of the pros and cons of different validity notions for contingent valuation is required.     

应用条件价值评估法(CVM)完善环境工程项目审计中对环境绩效的审计——以宁波市内河治理工程为例

在全面综述环境审计基本概念和内容的基础上,根据国际上环境审计的发展趋势,笔者尝试在宁波市内河水质治理工程项目审计中应用条件价值评估法(CVM)对该环境项目产生的经济效益进行量化分析,结果显示:受访人群平均愿意为改善水环境的支付金额保守值平均为76.70元/户,取样居民小区内每年居民总的支付意愿是6.89万元,即居民对改善新河水质产生经济效益的估计价;对位干内河周遍房产所增加的支付意愿保守值平均为81.60元/m2.通过引入CVM法量化的项目经济效益,直观地反映出政府投资环境工程的绩效.研究结果不仅用经济学方法把环境质量用货币价值表现出来,也为政府在环境治理项目审计中完善有关环境绩效的审计提供了技术上的支持.     

A Learning Design for Reducing Hypothetical Bias in the Contingent Valuation Method

Over the last few years a great deal of research has focussed on hypothetical bias in value estimates obtained with the contingent valuation (CV) method and on means for ameliorating if not eliminating such bias. To date, efforts to eliminate hypothetical bias have relied on calibration techniques or on word-smithing of one kind or another to induce subjects to provide responses to hypothetical questions that mimic responses made by subjects facing actual payments in the valuation experiment. This paper introduces a different approach for eliminating hypothetical bias. A design for a CV survey format is presented which provides subjects with the opportunity to learn how the CV institution works. Sequential referenda are conducted where respondents gain experience in CV settings by participating in both hypothetical and real referenda. The logic of this Learning Design is a straightforward application of the trials process used in experimental economics. We demonstrate that the Learning Design is effective in eliminating hypothetical bias in surveys concerning donations to two different public goods.     

A Comparison of Value Elicitation Question Formats in Multiple-Good Contingent Valuation

This paper provides a convergent validity test of two types of multinomial choice questions vis-a-vis a dichotomous choice question by formally testing whether these stated preference elicitation question formats provide comparable welfare estimates. In particular, a dichotomous choice question, a traditional multinomial choice question, and a modified multinomial choice question suggested by Carson and Groves （2007） were applied in split samples to assess the influence of the informational and incentive properties on the respondents＇ annual willingness to accept compensation for adopting costly conservation practices in agriculture that benefit the environment. Our findings suggest that the two multinomial choice question formats elicit a similar mean willingness to accept distributions, but they are both different from a standarddichotomous choice question. Further, the willingness to accept distributions derived from the multinomial choice question formats are more dispersed than those from the dichotomous choice question.     

Parametric and Semi-Nonparametric Estimation of Willingness-to-Pay in the Dichotomous Choice Contingent Valuation Framework

Standard procedures for extractingwillingness-to-pay (WTP) from dichotomouschoice CV questionnaires rely heavily uponparametric assumptions regarding thedistribution and form of WTP in the sampledpopulation. However, theory provides littleguidance regarding which parametricspecification to use and the resulting WTPestimates can be sensitive to the selectionsmade. Here we compare and contrast severalparametric and semi-nonparametric estimatorsthat have been proposed in the literature,examining the sensitivity of the resulting WTPestimates to the underlying distribution ofpreferences and the estimation procedureemployed.     

Contingent Valuation and Lost Passive Use: Damages from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

We report on the results of a large-scale contingent valuation (CV) study conducted after the Exxon Valdez oil spill to assess the harm caused by it. Among the issues considered are the design features of the CV survey, its administration to a national sample of U.S. households, estimation of household willingness to pay to prevent another Exxon Valdez type oil spill, and issues related to reliability and validity of the estimates obtained. Events influenced by the study's release are also briefly discussed.     

Multicultural Evaluation of the Performance of Contingent Valuation for Forest Fire Prevention

This article evaluates the ability of contingent valuation to measure the benefits received by several ethnic groups from a prescribed burning forest fire reduction program similar to President Bush's Healthy Forest Initiative. Reasons for refusing to pay higher taxes for the prescribed burning program were not statistically different between African Americans, Hispanics, and whites. Mean willingness to pay of whites was $400, whereas for African Americans it was $505, but the difference is not statistically significant. The results suggest a substantial statewide willingness to pay by whites and African Americans for forest fuel reduction projects using prescribed burning in California. (JEL Q26 , Q23 , J15 )     

The Social Marginal Valuation of Income: Australian Estimates from Government Behaviour*

Alternative public policies frequently incorporate distributional goals. The elasticity of the social marginal valuation of income, ε, can help to derive welfare weights for different individuals in different income groups. Estimates are presented of the elasticity of the social marginal valuation of income implied by the Australian personal income tax, in the period 1968–69 to 1975–76. Both equal absolute (EAS) and equal proportional sacrifice (EPS) models are used to infer the elasticity values. Using taxable income as a proxy for income, the consistent value of ε under EAS was found to range from 2.07 to 2.57; the EPS range was 1.76 to 2.40. A number of considerations suggested a best-guess magnitude of about 2.2. Caution is urged in the interpretation and use of these results.     

Donation Payment Mechanisms and Contingent Valuation: An Empirical Study of Hypothetical Bias

Donation payment mechanisms are well suited forsome contingent valuation studies. In aneffort to better understand the discrepancythat has been consistently found between actualand hypothetical donations, we investigate anapproach to estimating actual willingness todonate using contingent donations with afollow-up question in which respondents ratethe level of certainty about their response tothe contingent donation question. The approachallows us to estimate the magnitude of thehypothetical bias and identify the respondentsresponsible for the bias. Identification ofthe respondents responsible for thehypothetical bias is the first step towarddeveloping an understanding of the causes andpossible remedies. In this study we find thatmost of the respondents (80%) to thecontingent donation question provide a responseconsistent with how we predict they wouldrespond in an actual donation situation.     

基于条件价值评估法的中国巨灾风险保险模式定量设计——基于网络问卷调查的实证研究

巨灾风险损失经验数据的缺乏使得保险人设计合理的巨灾风险保险模式存在较大困难。基于巨灾风险保险的准公共物品性质,通过网络问卷调查,运用条件价值评估法,从消费者意愿角度对中国巨灾风险保险模式的主要项目进行定量设计,可以克服非寿险常规费率厘定方法的缺陷,对纠正巨灾风险保险市场失灵亦有积极意义。