Multicultural Evaluation of the Performance of Contingent Valuation for Forest Fire Prevention |
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| Authors: | John Loomis Armando Gonzalez-Caban Hayley Hesseln |
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| Affiliation: | Loomis:;Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, Phone 1-970-491-2485, Fax 1-970-491-2067, E-mail Gonzalez-Caban:;Economist, Forest Fire Lab, Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 4955 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507. Phone 1-909-680-1525, Fax 1-909-680-1501, E-mail Hesseln:;Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, 51 Campus Drive, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, S7K 5A8. Phone 1-306-966-8407, Fax 1-306-966-8413, E-mail |
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| Abstract: | 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 ) |
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