Abstract
This paper examines monetary valuations of lost passive-use benefits associated with damage to a unique environmental resource – a national park, elicited through contingent valuation, and compares them with actual donations to the same end, where the latter are interpreted as a quasi-market expression of willingness to pay for non-market resource services. The relationships between the two valuation approaches were investigated in the specific context of an environmental episode which damaged a unique natural endowment, Israel's Carmel National Park. The empirical analysis is based on data from two sample surveys; one sample was drawn from the population of people who either pledged or pledged and donated during a fund-raising campaign following the episode, with the proceeds dedicated to rehabilitation or prevention of future episodes; the second sample was drawn from the general population of the country. The results cannot be interpreted as providing unqualified support for the reliability of contingent valuation as a means for obtaining passive use values.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andreoni, J. (1989), 'Giving with Impure Altruism: Application to Charity and Ricardian Equivalence', J. Political Econ 97(6), 1447–1458.
Bergstrom, T. C., L. Blume and H. Varian (1986), 'On the Private Provision of Public Goods', J. Public Economics 29, 789–793.
Cameron, T. A. and J. Englin (1990), 'Existence, Option and User Demands for Non-Market Resources', Department of Economics, UCLA/Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Mimeo.
Carson, R. T. et al. (1997), 'Temporal Reliability of Estimates from Contingent Valuation', SSRN Economic Research Network, Working Paper Series, Vol. 2 (10).
Cummings, R. G. and G. W. Harrison (1995), 'The Measurement and Decomposition of Nonuse Values: A Critical Review', Environ Res Econom 5(3), 225–247.
Desvousges, W. H., V. K. Smith and M. P. McGivney (1983), A Comparison of Alternative Approaches for Estimating Recreation and Related Benefits of Water Quality Improvements. Washington, D. C.: Environmental Protection Agency.
Farrow, S. and D. M. Larson (1995), 'The Trailhead of “Faint” Behavioral Trails: Television News Viewing and the Exon Valdez', AERE Newsletter 15(1), 12–16.
Feld, L. P., W. W. Pommerehne and A. Hart (1996), 'Private Provision of a Public Good: A Case Study', in R. D. Congleton, ed., The Political Economy of Environmental Protection. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Fisher, A. and R. Raucher (1984), 'Intrinsic Benefits of Improved Water Quality: Conceptual and Empirical Perspectives', in V. K. Smith and A. Dryden Witte, eds., Advances in Applied Microeconomics. Greenwich, CN: JAI Press.
Freeman III, M. A. (1990), 'Non-Use Values in Natural Resource Damage Assessment', Resources for the Future/Bowdoin College, mimeo.
Kopp, R. J. (1991), 'The Proper Role of Existence Value in Public Decision Making', Resources for the Future, Discussion Paper QE91-17.
Krutilla, J. V. (1967), 'Conservation Reconsidered', Amer. Econom. Rev. 57(4), 777–786.
Kriström, B. (1997), 'Spike Models in Contingent Valuation', Am. J. of Agr. Econom. 79(3): 1013–1023.
McConnell, K. E. (1983), 'Existence and Bequest Value', in R. D. Rowe and L. G. Chestnut, eds., Managing Air Quality and Scenic Resources at National Parks and Wilderness Areas. Boulder, U. S. A.: Westview Press.
McConnell, K. E. (1997), 'Does Altruism Undermine Existence Value?', J. of Environ. Econom. Manage 32(1), 22–37.
McFadden, D. (1994), 'Contingent Valuation and Social Choice', Amer J. Agricul. Econom. 76, 689–708.
Mitchell, R. C. and R. T. Carson (1989), Using Surveys to Value Public Goods. Washington, D. C.: Resources for the Future.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (1993), 'Natural Resource Damage Assessment Under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990', Federal Register 58(10), 4601–4614.
Pearce, D. W. and A. Markandya (1989), The Benefits of Environmental Policy. Paris: OECD.
Randall, A. (1991), 'Total and Non-Use Values' in J. B. Braden and C. D. Kolstad, eds., Measuring Demand for Environmental Quality. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Reiser, B. and M. Shechter (1997), 'A Spike Model For Analyzing CVM Valuations with Zero Responses', Working Paper, Natural Resources and Environmental Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa.
Roberts, R. D. (1984), 'A Positive Model of Private Charity and Public Transfers', J. Polit. Econ. 92 (February), 136–148.
Rosenthal, D. H. and Nelson, R. H. (1992), 'Why Existence Value Should Not be Used in Cost-Benefit Analysis', J. Policy Analysis and Management 11(1), 116–122.
Shechter, M. R. Enis and M. Baron (1974), 'Mt. Carmel National Park: The Demand for Outdoor Recreation' (in Hebrew). Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa.
Shechter, M. and S. Freeman (1994), 'Some Reflections on the Definition and Measurement of Nonuse Value', in R. Pethig, ed., Valuing the Environment: Methodological and Measurement Issues, Ch. 7. Amsterdam: Kluwer, pp. 171–194.
Silberman, J., D. A. Gerlowski and N. A. Williams (1992), 'Estimating Existence Value for Users and Nonusers of New Jersey Beaches', Land Economics 68(2), 225–236.
Svento, R. (1995), 'A Note on Strategic Behavior in the Carmel Fund Campaign', Natural Resources and Environmental Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa. Mimeo.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shechter, M., Reiser, B. & Zaitsev, N. Measuring Passive Use Value: Pledges, Donations and CV Responses in Connection with an Important Natural Resource. Environmental and Resource Economics 12, 457–478 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008397411466
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008397411466