MEASURING HETEROGENEOUS PREFERENCES FOR PRESERVING FARMLAND AND OPEN SPACE

Public preferences for environmental policies often vary among individ ual citizens according to their socio-economic characteristics and att itudes toward environmental programs. Most researchers account for soc io-economic characteristics when conducting public preference surveys, but do not account for differences in preferences that transcend soci o-economic categories. Identifying the public's attitudes regarding en vironmental programs and the role they play in shaping individuals' pr eferences for policy alternatives can assist policy makers in developi ng programs that are consistent with public expectations. This paper u ses factor analysis and a discrete choice model to describe difference s in public preferences that result from different attitudes regarding the goals of programs designed to preserve farmland and open space. R esults describe policy implications that are not apparent when using m odels that address socio-economic characteristics alone. (C) 1998 Else vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.