CONTINGENT VALUATION AND SOCIAL CHOICE

The contingent valuation method for estimating the existence value of natural resources is examined for psychophysical robustness, statistic al reliability, and economic sensibility. Extensions of standard model s for willingness-to-pay, and suitable econometric techniques for anal yzing these models, are developed. The analysis is applied to a series of experiments on the value of preserving wilderness areas in the wes tern United States. The results call into question the reliability of the CV method for estimating existence values.