A BUG IS A BUG IS A BUG - SYMBOLIC RESPONSES TO CONTINGENT VALUATION QUESTIONS ABOUT FOREST PEST-CONTROL PROGRAMS

Symbolic responses are one of many issues attending contingent valuati on studies. The problem is that many objects that are the subject of c ontingent valuation surveys can act as symbols for larger issues. In t his paper, we want to compare the attitudes of residents of five commu nities with two different forest pests, jack pine budworm and gypsy mo th. Jack pine budworm affects commercially important forests in Canada , while gypsy moth generally affects recreational areas and has less c ommercial significance. All of the respondents were asked about both i nsects; however, not all of the communities had direct experience with both insects. The purpose is to examine whether respondents would dif ferentiate their willingness to pay for control mechanisms between the se different defoliators. The implication is that all bugs are alike a nd generally noxious, a notion that would not necessarily sit well wit h resource managers who have to deal with insect outbreaks. Respondent s did not differentiate strongly between insect control programs that would impact their community and those that would not. While not concl usive, the results do suggest symbolic responses to this particular is sue. This is further evidence that willingness-to-pay results from con tingent valuation studies need to be cautiously interpreted as pseudo market values.