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The structured value referendum: Eliciting preferences for environmental policy alternatives

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  • Timothy L. McDaniels

    (Westwater Research Centre and the School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia)

Abstract

This article introduces a voting-based method for eliciting public preferences, referred to as a structured value referendum (SVR). The process for developing and implementing an SVR is viewed as a version of public sector decision analysis, in which problem-structuring activities are crucial, and preference is elicited on a large scale by voters selecting among specified alternatives. The present study discusses the steps involved in developing an SVR, drawing on the problem-structuring approaches of decision analysis. Next, the advantages offered by SVR are discussed and compared to standard preference elicitation techniques or conventional referendums. A rationale for the use of SVR as an approach to preference elicitation is provided. Political judgments that differentiate SVR from other elicitation approaches are considered; the nature of the preference judgments and the required level of measurement are discussed. Concluding sections of the study discuss the implementation of an SVR for a regional government in British Columbia, in which 34,000 people voted to select among wastewater treatment alternatives for managing a potential environmental risk.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy L. McDaniels, 1996. "The structured value referendum: Eliciting preferences for environmental policy alternatives," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(2), pages 227-251.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:15:y:1996:i:2:p:227-251
    DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1520-6688(199621)15:2<227::AID-PAM4>3.0.CO;2-L
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Opaluch James J. & Swallow Stephen K. & Weaver Thomas & Wessells Christopher W. & Wichelns Dennis, 1993. "Evaluating Impacts from Noxious Facilities: Including Public Preferences in Current Siting Mechanisms," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 41-59, January.
    7. Ralph L. Keeney, 1988. "Structuring Objectives for Problems of Public Interest," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 36(3), pages 396-405, June.
    8. Gregory, Robin & Lichtenstein, Sarah & Slovic, Paul, 1993. "Valuing Environmental Resources: A Constructive Approach," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 177-197, October.
    9. Howard R. Bowen, 1943. "The Interpretation of Voting in the Allocation of Economic Resources," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 58(1), pages 27-48.
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    11. Kahneman, Daniel & Knetsch, Jack L & Thaler, Richard, 1986. "Fairness as a Constraint on Profit Seeking: Entitlements in the Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(4), pages 728-741, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Costa -Font, Joan & Forns, Joan Rovira & Sato, Azusa, 2015. "Participatory health system priority setting: Evidence from a budget experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 182-190.
    2. Estévez, Rodrigo A. & Gelcich, Stefan, 2015. "Participative multi-criteria decision analysis in marine management and conservation: Research progress and the challenge of integrating value judgments and uncertainty," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1-7.
    3. Greg Hampton, 2009. "Narrative policy analysis and the integration of public involvement in decision making," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 42(3), pages 227-242, August.
    4. Timothy McDaniels, 2021. "Four Decades of Transformation in Decision Analytic Practice for Societal Risk Management," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(3), pages 491-502, March.
    5. Robin Gregory & Tim McDaniels & Daryl Fields, 2001. "Decision Aiding, Not Dispute Resolution: Creating Insights through Structured Environmental Decisions," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(3), pages 415-432.
    6. Cameron A. MacKenzie & Kristy A. Bryden & Anna A. Prisacari, 2020. "Integrating narratives into decision making for complex systems engineering design issues," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(1), pages 65-81, January.
    7. McDaniels, Timothy L. & Gregory, Robin & Arvai, Joseph & Chuenpagdee, Ratana, 2003. "Decision structuring to alleviate embedding in environmental valuation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 33-46, August.
    8. Gregory, Robin & Wellman, Katharine, 2001. "Bringing stakeholder values into environmental policy choices: a community-based estuary case study," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 37-52, October.
    9. Timothy L. McDaniels & Karen Thomas, 1999. "Eliciting preferences for land use alternatives: A structured value referendum with approval voting," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(2), pages 264-280.
    10. Brown, Thomas C. & Gregory, Robin, 1999. "Why the WTA-WTP disparity matters," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 323-335, March.
    11. Timothy L. McDaniels & Robin S. Gregory & Daryl Fields, 1999. "Democratizing Risk Management: Successful Public Involvement in Local Water Management Decisions," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(3), pages 497-510, June.
    12. Timothy McDaniels & William Trousdale, 1999. "Value-Focused Thinking in a Difficult Context: Planning Tourism for Guimaras, Philippines," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 29(4), pages 58-70, August.

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