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Referendum Design and Contingent Valuation: The NOAA Panel's No-Vote Recommendation

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Author Info
Kopp, Raymond () (Resources for the Future)
Smith, V. Kerry
Mitchell, Robert
Presser, Stanley
Ruud, Paul
Hanemann, W. Michael
Krosnick, Jon
Carson, Richard

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Abstract

In 1992 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) convened a panel of prominent social scientists to assess the reliability of natural resource damage estimates derived from contingent valuation (CV). The product of the Panel's deliberations was a report that laid out a set of recommended guidelines for CV survey design, administration, and data analysis. One of the Panel's recommendations was that CV surveys should employ a referendum approach. This method describes a choice mechanism that asks each respondent how they would vote if faced with a particular program and the prospect of paying for the program through some means, such as higher taxes. The Panel also recommended that CV referendum questions which commonly use only "for" or "against" answers should be expanded to explicitly offer an "I would-not-vote" response. The purpose of this paper is to consider the effects of such a "would-not-vote" option. In developing the test, we followed the important elements of the NOAA Panel guidelines for the design and administration of a CV survey and use what was acknowledged(by the Panel) as the most carefully developed CV questionnaire to that time, that is, the State of Alaska's study of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Our findings suggest that when those selecting the "would-not-vote" response are treated as having voted "against" the offered program, offering the option does not alter: (a) the distribution of "for" and "against" responses, (b) the estimates of WTP derived from these choices, or (c) the construct validity of the results.

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Paper provided by Resources For the Future in its series Discussion Papers with number dp-96-05.

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Date of creation: 01 Nov 1995
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Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-96-05

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Carson, Richard T. & Hanemann, W. Michael & Kopp, Raymond J. & Krosnick, Jon A. & Mitchell, Robert C. & Presser, Stanley & Ruud, Paul A. & Smith, V. Kerry, 1995. "Temporal Reliability of Estimates from Contingent Valuation," Working Papers 95-05, Duke University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Bergstrom, Theodore C & Rubinfeld, Daniel L & Shapiro, Perry, 1982. "Micro-Based Estimates of Demand Functions for Local School Expenditures," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(5), pages 1183-1205, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Portney, Paul R, 1994. "The Contingent Valuation Debate: Why Economists Should Care," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 3-17, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Carson, R.T. & Mitchell, R.C. & Hanemann, W.M. & Kopp, R.J. & Presser, S. & Ruud, P.A., 1992. "A Contingent Valuation Study of Lost Passive Use Values Resulting From the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill," MPRA Paper 6984, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  5. Carson, Richard T. & Hanemann, W. Michael, 2006. "Contingent Valuation," Handbook of Environmental Economics, in: K. G. Mäler & J. R. Vincent (ed.), Handbook of Environmental Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 17, pages 821-936 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Diamond, Peter A & Hausman, Jerry A, 1994. "Contingent Valuation: Is Some Number Better than No Number?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 45-64, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Hanemann, W Michael, 1994. "Valuing the Environment through Contingent Valuation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 19-43, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. V. Smith & Xiaolong Zhang & Raymond Palmquist, 1997. "Marine Debris, Beach Quality, and Non-Market Values," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 10(3), pages 223-247, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Alok Bohara & Joe Kerkvliet & Robert Berrens, 2001. "Addressing Negative Willingness to Pay in Dichotomous Choice Contingent Valuation," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 20(3), pages 173-195, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Kopp, Raymond & Smith, V. Kerry & Mitchell, Robert & Presser, Stanley & Ruud, Paul & Hanemann, W. Michael & Krosnick, Jon & Conaway, Michael & Martin, Kerry & Carson, Richard, 1996. "Was the NOAA Panel Correct About Contingent Valuation?," Discussion Papers dp-96-20, Resources For the Future. [Downloadable!]
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  4. Wang,Hua & Laplante, Benoit & Xun Wu & Meisner, Craig, 2004. "Estimating willingness-to-pay with random valuation models : an application to Lake Sevan, Armenia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3367, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  5. Kim, Soo-Il & Haab, Timothy C., 2003. "Temporal Insensitivity Of Pvwtp And Implied Discount Rates In Cvm," 2003 Annual meeting, July 27-30, Montreal, Canada 21921, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association). [Downloadable!]
  6. Patricia Champ & Richard Bishop, 2001. "Donation Payment Mechanisms and Contingent Valuation: An Empirical Study of Hypothetical Bias," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 19(4), pages 383-402, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Krupnick, Alan & Cropper, Maureen & Alberini, Anna & Heintzelman, Martin & Simon, Nathalie & O'Brien, Bernie & Goeree, Ron, 2000. "Age, Health, and the Willingness to Pay for Mortality Risk Reductions: A Contingent Valuation Survey of Ontario Residents," Discussion Papers dp-00-37, Resources For the Future. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Pascual, Unai & Dedeurwaerdere, Tom & Krishna, Vijesh, 2006. "Bioprospection Beyond Intellectual Property Rights: The Kani Model of Access and Benefit Sharing," 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia 25377, International Association of Agricultural Economists. [Downloadable!]
  9. Peter A. Groothuis & John C. Whitehead, . "Does Don't Know Mean No? Analysis of 'Don't Know' Responses in Dichotomous Choice Contingent Valuation Questions," Working Papers 9814, East Carolina University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Catherine Chambers & John Whitehead, 2003. "A Contingent Valuation Estimate of the Benefits of Wolves in Minnesota," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 26(2), pages 249-267, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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