Valuing Environmental Preferences or Readings in Development Economics Vol 1

Valuing Environmental Preferences: Theory and Practice of Contingent Valuation Method in the U. S., E. U., and Developing Countries

Author: Ian J Bateman

Just as individuals have preferences regarding the various goods and services they purchase every day, so they also hold preferences regarding public goods such as those provided by the natural environment. However, unlike private goods, environmental goods often cannot be valued by direct reference to any market price. This makes economic analysis of the costs and benefits of environmental change problematic. Over the past few decades a number of methods have developed to address this problem by attempting to value environmental preferences. Principal amongst these has been the contingent valuation (CV) method which uses surveys to ask individuals how much they would be willing to pay or willing to accept in compensation for gains or losses of environmental goods.. "This volume, has been written at a time of heated debate over the CV method. It contains specially written papers from both sides of that debate, as well as from commentators who see it as an interesting experimental tool regardless of the question of absolute validity of estimates. The book embraces the theoretical, methodological, empirical, and institutional aspects of the current debate. It covers US, European, and developing country applications, and the institutional frameworks within which CV studies are applied.

Table of Contents:

	List of Contributors
1	Introduction and Overview	1
2	The Place of Economic Values in Environmental Valuation	17
3	Neo-Classical Economic Theory and Contingent Valuation	42
4	The Theory and Measurement of Passive-use Value	97
5	Public Goods and Contingent Valuation	131
6	Alternatives to the Neo-Classical Theory of Choice	152
7	Doubt, Doubts, and Doubters: The Genesis of a New Research Agenda?	183
8	A Psychological Perspective	207
9	Information, Uncertainty, and Contingent Valuation	258
10	A Monte Carlo Comparison of Ols Estimation Errors and Design Efficiencies in a Two-Stage Stratified Random Sampling Procedure for a Contingent Valuation Study	280
11	The Statistical Analysis of Discrete-Response CV Data	302
12	Multi-Level Modelling and Contingent Valuation	442
13	Stated-Preference Methods for Valuing Environmental Amenities	460
14	Option and Anticipatory Values of us Wilderness	483
15	Elicitation Effects in Contingent Valuation Studies	511
16	Household Demand for Improved Sanitation Services: A Case Study of Calamba, the Philippines	540
17	Contingent Valuation Methodology and the EU Institutional Framework	585
18	Contingent Valuation Methodology and the Us Institutional Framework	613
	Index of Authors	629
	Index of Subjects	636

Interesting textbook: The Reasoned Schemer or Adsense Code

Readings in Development Economics - Vol. 1: Micro-Theory

Author: Pranab K K Bardhan

These two volumes of readings attempt to bring some degree of structure to a relatively diffuse field. Because of the sheer volume of high-quality work in development economics research, they are intended as a sampling of work at the frontier of the field, rather than as a comprehensive overview.

Volume I: Micro-Theory focuses on theoretical work. Topics covered include sharecropping as a principle-agent problem, fragmented duopolies, credit market imperfections, poverty traps, peer monitoring in credit cooperatives, coordination failures, human capital accumulation as an engine of growth, and environmental issues in development.