Respondent uncertainty in contingent valuation: the case of whale conservation in Newfoundland and Labrador

Lyssenko, Nikita and Martinez-Espineira, Roberto (2009): Respondent uncertainty in contingent valuation: the case of whale conservation in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the issue of respondent uncertainty in contingent valuation studies while estimating the willingness to pay for a whale conservation program o¤ the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. We use data from a phone survey administered to a sample (N=614) of adult Canadians, proposing a policy consisting of subsidizing and enforcing the use of acoustic devices that would reduce the likelihood that whales become entangled in �shing nets. A follow-up question asked respondents how certain they were about their answer to the main dichotomous-choice question, which allows us to investigate how the treatment of uncertainty a¤ects value measures. A mean willingness to pay of about $81/year per respondent is estimated when accounting for the degree of certainty with which respondents expressed their willingness to pay. We also analyze payment vehicle e¤ects using a split-sample approach whereby some respondents were asked a dichotomous-choice question about a tax contribution while others were asked about a voluntary donation instead.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: contingent valuation; whales; preference uncertainty; dichotomous choice; payment vehicle; willingness to pay
• Subjects: Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q51 - Valuation of Environmental Effects

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