Respondent uncertainty in contingent valuation: the case of whale conservation in Newfoundland and Labrador

In this article we investigate the issue of respondent uncertainty in contingent valuation studies while estimating the willingness to pay for a whale conservation program off the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. We use data from a phone survey administered to a sample ( N = 614) of adult Canadians, proposing a policy consisting of subsidizing and enforcing the use of acoustic devices that would reduce the likelihood that whales become entangled in fishing nets. A follow-up question asked respondents how certain they were about their answer to the main dichotomous-choice question, which allows us to investigate how the treatment of uncertainty affects value measures. A mean willingness to pay of about $81/year per respondent is estimated when accounting for the degree of certainty with which respondents expressed their willingness to pay. We also analyse payment vehicle effects using a split-sample approach whereby some respondents were asked a dichotomous-choice question about a tax contribution while others were asked about a voluntary donation instead.