Valuing the non-market production of agriculture

As a consequence of the negotiations for a new agricultural policy of the EU the multifunctionality of agricultural production has come into new prominence in the public. The philosophy that subsidies for the agricultural sector should be calculated not only by agricultural market production but also according to agricultural noncommodity production like e.g. the conservation of the countryside, makes it necessary to assess the social value of this part of agricultural production. In this paper we scrutinize the welfare theoretical background of the economic valuation of non-market production as well as the existing practical valuation techniques. Further, the applicability of these techniques to the valuation of agricultural noncommodity production is considered.valuation of non-market goods, cost-benefit analysis, contingent valuation, multifunctionality of agriculture, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

The Role of Participation in CVM Survey Design: Evidence from a Tap Water Improvement Program in Northern Thailand

In the environmental economics literature results from contingent valuation mail surveys (MS) are usually considered less reliable than results from face-to-face surveys (FtF). This is mostly due to low response rates and self-selection effects of the respondents. However, MS are much less costly than FtF surveys so that there exists a strong need to make MS more reliable in order to save costs for environmental policy makers. This paper proposes a participatory procedure of survey design in order to improve MS questionnaires. In an empirical study of water quality improvement it is demonstrated that this procedure yields results identical to those of a FtF survey. In contrast to focus groups commonly applied in contingent valuation, we are able to show with our empirical study that much better results can be obtained by conducting group meetings with respondents from a preceding mail survey. Their pre-information of the project and experience with the questionnaire as well as their high motivation to get involved proved to be advantageous for efficient and productive group discussions. Our participatory questionnaire design resulted in a doubling of the response rate and a significant reduction of respondent self-selection. Further, alternative willingness-to-pay elicitation question formats were tested in the context of Thailand. For the dichotomous choice format strong anchoring and "yea"-saying effects were detected so that the use of this format cannot be recommended here. In contrast, the payment card format was found to perform well in this study.contingent valuation, water quality improvement, participatory techniques, mail surveys, elicitation question formats, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, D6, H4, L3, Q25, Q51,

The Economic Value of Improved Wastewater Irrigation: A Contingent Valuation Study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

In developing countries the use of wastewater for irrigation can cause considerable harm to public health and the environment. This paper uses contingent valuation to estimate the economic value of safe use of wastewater for crop production on farms within and around Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We estimate a surprisingly large welfare gain from policies for safe use of wastewater for irrigation. Our study highlights the potential and the possible pitfalls of using nonmarket valuation techniques as an input into public decision making where traditional resource use interacts with public health and environmental concerns in complex ways.contingent valuation, dichotomous choice, Ethiopia, irrigation, wastewater, willingness to pay, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Valuing the non-market production of agriculture

As a consequence of the negotiations for a new agricultural policy of the EU the multifunctionality of agricultural production has come into new prominence in the public. The philosophy that subsidies for the agricultural sector should be calculated not only by agricultural market production but also according to agricultural noncommodity production like e.g. the conservation of the countryside, makes it necessary to assess the social value of this part of agricultural production. In this paper we scrutinize the welfare theoretical background of the economic valuation of non-market production as well as the existing practical valuation techniques. Further, the applicability of these techniques to the valuation of agricultural noncommodity production is considered

The Role of Participation in CVM Survey Design: Evidence from a Tap Water Improvement Program in Northern Thailand

In the environmental economics literature results from contingent valuation mail surveys (MS) are usually considered less reliable than results from face-to-face surveys (FtF). This is mostly due to low response rates and self-selection effects of the respondents. However, MS are much less costly than FtF surveys so that there exists a strong need to make MS more reliable in order to save costs for environmental policy makers. This paper proposes a participatory procedure of survey design in order to improve MS questionnaires. In an empirical study of water quality improvement it is demonstrated that this procedure yields results identical to those of a FtF survey. In contrast to focus groups commonly applied in contingent valuation, we are able to show with our empirical study that much better results can be obtained by conducting group meetings with respondents from a preceding mail survey. Their pre-information of the project and experience with the questionnaire as well as their high motivation to get involved proved to be advantageous for efficient and productive group discussions. Our participatory questionnaire design resulted in a doubling of the response rate and a significant reduction of respondent self-selection. Further, alternative willingness-to-pay elicitation question formats were tested in the context of Thailand. For the dichotomous choice format strong anchoring and "yea"-saying effects were detected so that the use of this format cannot be recommended here. In contrast, the payment card format was found to perform well in this study

The Economic Value of Improved Wastewater Irrigation: A Contingent Valuation Study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

In developing countries the use of wastewater for irrigation can cause considerable harm to public health and the environment. This paper uses contingent valuation to estimate the economic value of safe use of wastewater for crop production on farms within and around Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We estimate a surprisingly large welfare gain from policies for safe use of wastewater for irrigation. Our study highlights the potential and the possible pitfalls of using nonmarket valuation techniques as an input into public decision making where traditional resource use interacts with public health and environmental concerns in complex ways

Better than their reputation: enhancing the validity of contingent valuation mail survey results through citizen expert groups

Although contingent valuation is the dominant technique for the valuation of public projects, especially in the environmental sector, the high costs of contingent valuation surveys prevent the use of this method for the assessment of relatively small projects. The reason for this cost problem is that typically only contingent valuation studies which are based on face-to-face interviews are accepted as leading to valid results. Particularly in countries with high wages, face-to-face surveys are extremely costly considering that for a valid contingent valuation study a minimum of 1000 completed face-to-face interviews is required. This paper tries a rehabilitation of mail surveys as low-budget substitutes for costly face-to-face surveys. Based on an empirical contingent valuation study in Northern Thailand, it is shown that the validity of mail surveys can be improved significantly if so-called Citizen Expert Groups are employed for a thorough survey design.contingent valuation, mail surveys, citizen expert groups, willingness to pay, Thailand, convergent validity,