An Experiment in Determining Willingness to Pay for National Water Quality Improvements

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Keywords

Subject:

1. Benefits Analysis
1. Benefits Analysis - Valuation
1. Benefits Analysis - Valuation - Stated Preference
1. Benefits Analysis - Valuation - Stated Preference - Contingent Valuation

Environmental Media/Problems covered:

b. Water
b. Water - Surface

Authors:	Mitchell, Robert Cameron Carson, Richard T.
EPA Project Officer/ Manager:	Carlin, Alan
Geographic Area:
Study Purpose:	Empirical Application
Report Series:	Contingent Valuation of National Water Quality Improvments

Inventory Record #: EE-0011
List of all reports in the Series:
1) Willingness to Pay for National Freshwater Quality Improvements
2) The Use of Contingent Valuation Data for Benefit/Cost Analysis in Water Pollution Control
You are here--> 3) An Experiment in Determining Willingness to Pay for National Water Quality Improvements

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Report Details

Summary

The purpose of this research is to develop a methodology for using direct interview survey techniques to estimate national benefits from freshwater water quality improvements. In particular, this study has developed a method for estimating the intrinsic benefits of water quality, a class of benefits which include option, existence, and bequest benefits among others. The method also measures consumer recreational benefits, but does not estimate industrial, commercial or drinking water benefits.
The report is divided into the following chapters:

1. The Willingness to Pay Method, Consumer Surplus and Water Quality Benefits
2. The Macro Approach to Willingness to Pay Studies
3. Research Procedures
4. Control for Biases
5. Experimental Benefits Estimates: Overall, Use and Intrinsic
6. Conclusion and Recommendations

These are followed by the following appendices:

I. RFF Research Instrument
II. The Water Quality Ladder by William J. Vaughan
III. Derivation of Public Goods Expenditures
IV. Preceeding Questionnaire on Environmental and Energy Issues
V. Sampling Plan for the RFF Survey
VI. Cases Eliminated from Analysis
VII. Construction of ENVINDEX
VIII. A New Constructive Test for Heteroskedasticity by Richard T. Carson and William J. Vaughan

Please note that the downloadable files below do not include any of the pages beyond page 15 of Appendix IV. This portion of the report can be ordered in hard copy form, however.

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File Description	File Size (KB)	File Type
Beginning through Chapter 2	569	Acrobat
Chapters 3 and 4	448	Acrobat
Chapter 5 and beginning of Appendix I	503	Acrobat
Continuation of Appendix I to beginning of Appendix IV	549	Acrobat
Continuation of Appendix 4 through page 15	538	Acrobat

Date Linked: 11/02/1998

An Experiment in Determining Willingness to Pay for National Water Quality Improvements

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