Summary

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.

Choice Review

This collection of essays, chiefly by economists from universities and institutions like the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is concerned with management and improvement of the nation's environment. The focus is on placing dollar values on environmental resources and then measuring the willingness of people to sacrifice for this improvement in environmental quality. This method of analysis, contingent valuation methodology, is the principal means of determining the trade-off between environmental quality and the value of private goods and services. Contingent Valuation has proved to be a controversial and difficult method of analysis, and not all the contributors accept this rationale in making environmental choices. The problem with this methodology is that environmental resources are not governed by market concerns; i.e., they cannot be sold like tangible products. Also complicating this analysis is that the satisfaction or utility derived by consumers from these resources, called "passive use values," cannot be easily determined. The articles are quite complex and are primarily for economists in the field of land use and resource management. Unfortunately, biologists and environmentalists without a strong background in economics will have difficulty in following the discussion. Graduates; researchers and faculty; professionals. J. S. Schwartz CUNY College of Staten Island