NONUSERS WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR A NATIONAL-PARK - AN APPLICATION AND CRITIQUE OF THE CONTINGENT VALUATION METHOD

A great deal of the ongoing academic debate concerning the contingent valuation (CV) method has focused upon whether or not the method is su itable for assessing non-use values. This paper presents results from a study examining non-users' Values for preserving the Norfolk Broads, a wetland area of recognized international importance, from the threa t of saline flooding. Discussion of results centres upon the validity of the CV method for eliciting unbiased estimates of non-use value. A graphical representation of findings from a variety of studies is pres ented to suggest that such results are logically ordered across goods and valuation scenarios. However, as the paper concludes, logicality a nd validity are not necessarily synonymous.