Abstract

Mean willingness-to-pay (WTP) based on multiple bounded, discrete choice responses from contingent valuation surveys are normally obtained using some kind of parametric estimator. This paper instead exploits the possibility to interpret the response to the discrete-choice question as an implicit contract between the researcher and the respondent, resulting in a minimum legal WTP (MLW) estimator. Never previously used in valuation literature, it is used in this paper to estimate the WTP for the preservation of large carnivores in Sweden, based on a large scale, national survey. Results show that MLW estimates only were 12-19% of the comparable parametric estimates. In keeping with other results in contingent valuation literature, we find that the MLW estimates are positively related to the educational level, income and the fraction of urban population, while negatively related to age. Among the advantages of the MLW estimator is its transparency as well as the fact that it rests on a contractual notion of WTP.

Keywords

contingent valuation; willingness-to-pay; minimum legal WTP; discrete choice; carnivores

Published in

Environmental and Resource Economics
2008, Volume: 39, number: 2, pages: 189-198
Publisher: SPRINGER

SLU Authors

• Ericsson, Göran

  • Department of Animal Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Kindberg, Jonas

  • Department of Animal Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Bostedt, Göran

  • Department of Forest Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use
Ecology


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-007-9103-x

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/18914