The Contingent Valuation of Environmental Resources: Methodological Issues and Research Needs(New Horizons in Environmental Economics series)

Contingent valuation analysis is both a difficult and controversial means of environmental resource valuation. Yet many economists regard it as the only valid means of measuring values in environmental policy.This major new book contains a collection of papers that examine the current state-of-the-art in the valuation of environmental resources. In particular, they assess the meaningfulness of environmental resource values obtained through the contingent valuation method. An internationally prominent group of scholars develops a fuller understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology and discusses a research agenda to improve estimates of environmental resource values. Economic value and the ability to obtain it through the survey measurement of consumer preferences is central to their discussion. Issues covered include the need for a broad perspective in valuation research, support for replication studies, the relationship between survey structure and survey responses, the processes by which environmental resources affect individual well-being, specific issues regarding environmental goods in surveys, and better tests of internal and external validity. The current state-of-the-art is outlined in a series of core papers and then debated in discussion papers. This major book describes how practitioners, critics, and users of contingent valuation have framed the fundamental issues that must be solved if the approach is to gain wider acceptance.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Acknowledgements Part I: Introduction Part II: Economic Theory and the Contingent Valuation Method Part III: Structural Issues Concerning Contingent Valuation Surveys Part IV: Comparison of Revealed and Stated Preference Methods: Calibration and Comparisons with Choice in Real Markets Part V: Comparison of Revealed and Stated Preferences Methods: Insights from Comparison with Collective Choice Models Part VI: Conclusions References Index

About the Author :
Edited by the late David J. Bjornstad, formerly Leader of Energy and Environmental Economics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Adjunct Professor of Economics, Georgia State University, US and James R. Kahn, Director of Environmental Studies and John F. Hendon Professor of Economics, Washington and Lee University, US and Collaborating Professor, Centro do Ciências Ambientais, Universidade do Amazonas, Brazil

Review :
'. . . the lead papers and the responses do a good job of addressing and advancing the methodological focus. One very nice feature is that the authors often go outside the domain of the "pure economics" literature.'