No abstract

A conceptual model is developed which provides insight into how information affects willingness to pay for environmental commodities. A refutable hypothesis of the effects of a specific information type on the magnitude of willingness to pay for an environmental commodity is developed. This hypothesis is tested using a contingent valuation method experiment. Results indicate that information affects willingness to pay in a theoretically plausible manner. The results support the contention that information is important for accurate environmental commodity consumer valuations.

Failure of land markets to account for environmental amenity benefits may lend support to public policies to protect agricultural land. The contingent valuation method is employed to estimate willingness to pay for such amenities in Greenville County, South Carolina. Marginal household amenity benefits were estimated at $.06 per thousand acres using a payment card in a mail survey with 53 percent response. Bid payment vehicle was found not to significantly influence bids received. The informational structure of the contingent market was found to influence valuation responses, reinforcing the hypothesis that respondents react to alternative contingent market structures. The relationship between contingent market structure and directional effects upon responses is an important area for future research.

A dichotomous choice form of contingent valuation is applied to quantify individuals' economic surplus associated with preservation of the whooping crane resource. Specific issues and limitations ofthe empirical approach are discussed. The results ofthis case study reveal that models with similar statistical fits can lead to very disparate measures of economic value, regardless of whether the mean or median is chosen to estimate average willingness to pay. Such results suggest caution is necessary when applying dichotomous choice models in contingent valuation.