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Sensitivity of WTP Estimates to Definition of ‘Yes’: Reinterpreting Expressed Response Intensity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Mimako Kobayashi ,
Kimberly Rollins  and
M. D. R. Evans
Mimako Kobayashi
Affiliation:
Department of Resource Economics
Kimberly Rollins
Affiliation:
Department of Resource Economics
M. D. R. Evans
Affiliation:
Department of Resource Economics and the Department of Sociology, at the University of Nevada, Reno, in Reno, Nevada
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Abstract

Willingness to pay (WTP) estimation typically involves some strategy for mapping nondichotomous contingent valuation (CV) responses onto a dichotomous yes/no dependent variable. We propose a new approach to selecting which responses qualify as ‘yes.’ We apply the proposed method to polychotomous CV data for preventative land management programs in the Great Basin. We also estimate WTP using other methods of response recoding found in the literature. By contrasting the results under different approaches, we demonstrate how and why WTP point estimates vary across recoding methods and discuss the comparative advantages of our more generalized recoding approach that is based on predicted probabilities of ‘yes’ responses.

Keywords

contingent valuationGreat Basininvasive weedsland managementpolychotomous formatresponse intensityresponse mappingwildfire
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 39 , Issue 1 , February 2010 , pp. 37 - 55
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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