Public attitudes to contingent valuation and public consultation

The use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in environmental decision-making and the contingent valuation (CV) technique as input into traditional CBA to e licit environmental values in monetary terms has stimulated an extensive de bate. Critics have questioned the appropriateness of both the method and th e technique. Some alternative suggestions for the elicitation of environmen tal values are based on a social process of deliberation. However, just lik e traditional economic theory, these alternative approaches may be question ed on their implicit value judgements regarding the legitimacy of the socia l-political organisation of the process of value elicitation. Instead of ma king assumptions a priori, research efforts should be focused on the proces ses by which actual public attitudes and preferences towards the environmen t can best be elicited and fed into environmental or other public policy de cision-making. In the study presented in this paper, support was found for both the individual WTP based approach and a participatory social deliberat ion approach to inform the environmental decision-making process, suggestin g that a combination of both approaches is most appropriate.