Better than their reputation: enhancing the validity of contingent valuation mail survey results through citizen expert groups

Abstract

Although contingent valuation is the dominant technique for the valuation of public projects, especially in the environmental sector, the high costs of contingent valuation surveys prevent the use of this method for the assessment of relatively small projects. The reason for this cost problem is that typically only contingent valuation studies which are based on face-to-face interviews are accepted as leading to valid results. Particularly in countries with high wages, face-to-face surveys are extremely costly considering that for a valid contingent valuation study a minimum of 1000 completed face-to-face interviews is required. This paper tries a rehabilitation of mail surveys as low-budget substitutes for costly face-to-face surveys. Based on an empirical contingent valuation study in Northern Thailand, it is shown that the validity of mail surveys can be improved significantly if so-called Citizen Expert Groups are employed for a thorough survey design.contingent valuation, mail surveys, citizen expert groups, willingness to pay, Thailand, convergent validity,

Keeping up appearances: Motivations for socially desirable responding in contingent valuation interviews

“…(e.g. Ahlheim et al, 2010;Ethier et al, 2000;Leggett et al, 2003;Lindhjem and Navrud, 2011;Maguire, 2009;Mannesto and Loomis, 1991;Marta-Pedroso et al, 2007;Whittaker et al, 1998). Comparing the results of different survey modes in this manner corresponds to controlling the effect of varying levels of anonymity of the interview situation because in some of the above settings an interviewer is present and in some the respondent is alone.…”

Participatory Approaches to Research and Development in the Southeast Asian Uplands: Potential and Challenges

“…After employing the CEGs and adapting the questionnaires according to their suggestions (cf. Ahlheim et al 2010 for details), a doubling of the return rate, to about 50 %, was achieved. Further, and most importantly, the monetary valuation results were now statistically identical for the MS and F2F surveys.…”

“…Ahlheim et al 2010 for details). The specific aim was to test the potential of participatory techniques in terms of improving CVM mail surveys (MS), to the extent that they could substitute for conventionally applied but highly expensive face-to-face (F2F) surveys.…”

Social Desirability and Environmental Valuation

“…This criticism is addressed by several more recent studies which explicitly hold the two factors sampling frame and response rate constant or at least approximately equal while comparing WTP statements across different modes (Ahlheim et al 2010, Ethier et al 2000, Leggett et al 2003, Smith 2006, Whittaker et al 1998. Additionally, these studies explicitly control for differences in demographic variables across different survey modes.…”