Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T00:06:03.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Willingness to Pay for Water Quality Improvements in the United States and Canada: Considering Possibilities for International Meta-Analysis and Benefit Transfer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Robert J. Johnston  and
Paul J. Thomassin
Robert J. Johnston
Affiliation:
Director of the George Perkins Marsh Institute and Professor in the Department of Economics at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts
Paul J. Thomassin
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics at McGill University, Macdonald Campus, in Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada
Get access

Abstract

This paper presents a multinational meta-analysis estimated to identify systematic components of willingness to pay for surface water quality improvements, developed to support benefit transfer for Canadian policy development. Metadata are drawn from stated preference studies that estimate WTP for water quality changes affecting aquatic life habitats—a type of study with few Canadian examples. The goals of this paper are to assess the properties of a multinational (United States/Canada) meta-analysis compared to a single-country (U.S.) analog; illustrate the potential information that may be derived as well as the analytical challenges; and assess the performance of resulting meta-functions for benefit transfer.

Keywords

meta-regression analysisstated preferencewater qualitywillingness to paybenefit cost analysis
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 39 , Issue 1 , February 2010 , pp. 114 - 131
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aiken, R.A. 1985. “Public Benefits of Environmental Protection in Colorado.” Master's thesis, Department of Economics, Colorado State University.Google Scholar
Anderson, G.D., and Edwards, S.F. 1986. “Protecting Rhode Island's Coastal Salt Ponds: An Economic Assessment of Downzoning.” Coastal Zone Management 14(1/2): 67–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Azevedo, C., Herriges, J.A., and Kling, C.L. 2001. “Valuing Preservation and Improvements of Water Quality in Clear Lake.” Staff Report 01-SR 94, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), Iowa State University.Google Scholar
Bateman, I.J., and Jones, A.P. 2003. “Contrasting Conventional with Multi-Level Modeling Approaches to Meta-Analysis: Expectation Consistency in U.K. Woodland Recreation Values.” Land Economics 79(2): 235–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergstrom, J.C., and Taylor, L.O. 2006. “Using Meta-Analysis for Benefits Transfer: Theory and Practice.” Ecological Economics 60(2): 351–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bockstael, N.E., McConnell, K.E., and Strand, I.E. 1989. “Measuring the Benefits of Improvements in Water Quality: The Chesapeake Bay.” Marine Resource Economics 6(1): 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brander, L.M., Florax, R.J.G.M., and Vermaat, J.E. 2006. “The Empirics of Wetland Valuation: A Comprehensive Summary and a Meta-Analysis of the Literature.” Environmental and Resource Economics 33(2): 223–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brander, L.M., van Beukering, P., and Cesar, H. 2007. “The Recreational Value of Coral Reefs: A Meta-Analysis.” Ecological Economics 63(1): 209–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brox, J.A., Kumar, R.C., and Stollery, K.R. 1996. “Willingness to Pay for Water Quality and Supply Enhancements in the Grand River Watershed.” Canadian Water Resources Journal 21(3): 275–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brouwer, R., and Bateman, I.J. 2005. “Benefits Transfer of Willingness to Pay Estimates and Functions for Health-risk Reductions: A Cross-Country Study.” Journal of Health Economics 24(3): 591–611.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brouwer, R., Langford, I.H., Bateman, I.J., and Turner, R.K. 1999. “A Meta-analysis of Wetland Contingent Valuation Studies.” Regional Environmental Change 1(1): 47–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cameron, T.A., and Huppert, D.D. 1989. “OLS versus ML Estimation of Non-market Resource Values with Payment Card Interval Data.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 17(3): 230–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carson, R.T., and Mitchell, R.C. 1993. “The Value of Clean Water: the Public's Willingness To Pay for Boatable, Fishable, and Swimmable Quality Water.” Water Resources Research 29(7): 2445–2454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carson, R.T., Hanemann, W.M., Kopp, R.J., Krosnick, J.A., Mitchell, R.C., Presser, S., Ruud, P.A., and Smith, V.K. 1994. “Prospective Interim Lost Use Value Due to DDT and PCB Contamination in the Southern California Bight, Volume 2.” Unpublished report to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Natural Resources Damage Assessment Inc., La Jolla, CA. Document on file with the authors.Google Scholar
Clonts, H.A., and Malone, J.W. 1990. “Preservation Attitudes and Consumer Surplus in Free Flowing Rivers.” In Vining, J., ed., Social Science and Natural Resource Recreation Management. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Croke, K., Fabian, R.G., and Brenniman, G. 1987. “Estimating the Value of Improved Water Quality in an Urban River System.” Journal of Environmental Systems 16(1): 13–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cronin, F.J. 1982. “Valuing Nonmarket Goods Through Contingent Markets.” Report PNL-4255, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA. Document on file with the authors.Google Scholar
Desvousges, W.H., Smith, V.K., and McGivney, M.P. 1983. “A Comparison of Alternative Approaches for Estimating Recreation and Related Benefits of Water Quality Improvements.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Economic Analysis Division, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
De Zoysa, A.D.N. 1995. “A Benefit Evaluation of Programs to Enhance Groundwater Quality, Surface Water Quality and Wetland Habitat in Northwest Ohio.” Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, The Ohio State University.Google Scholar
Dupont, D.P. 2003. “CVM Embedding Effects When There Are Active, Potentially Active and Passive Users of Environmental Goods.” Environmental and Resource Economics 25(3): 319–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farber, S., and Griner, B. 2000. “Valuing Watershed Quality Improvements Using Conjoint Analysis.” Ecological Economics 34(1): 63–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, K.M., Tyrrell, T.J., and Anderson, G. 1992. “Estimating the Benefits of Water Quality Improvements in the Upper Narragansett Bay.” Marine Resource Economics 7(1): 75–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herriges, J.A., and Shogren, J.F. 1996. “Starting Point Bias in Dichotomous Choice Valuation with Follow-Up Questioning.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 30(1): 112–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, J.C., Haab, T.C., and Whitehead, J.C. 1997. “Willingness to Pay for Quality Improvements: Should Revealed and Stated Preference Data Be Combined?” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 34(3): 240–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, R.J., and Besedin, E.Y. 2009. “Benefits Transfer and Meta-Analysis: Estimating Willingness to Pay for Aquatic Resource Improvements.” In Thurston, H.W., Heberling, M.T., and Schrecongost, A., eds., Environmental Economics for Watershed Restoration. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.Google Scholar
Johnston, R.J., Besedin, E.Y., and Wardwell, R.F. 2003. “Modeling Relationships Between Use and Nonuse Values for Surface Water Quality: A Meta-Analysis.” Water Resources Research 39(12): 1363–1372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, R.J., Besedin, E.Y., Iovanna, R., Miller, C., Wardwell, R., and Ranson, M. 2005. “Systematic Variation in Willingness to Pay for Aquatic Resource Improvements and Implications for Benefit Transfer: A Meta-Analysis.” Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 53(2-3): 221–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, R.J., and Rosenberger, R.S. 2010. Methods, Trends and Controversies in Contemporary Benefit Transfer. Journal of Economic Surveys, available online: doi: 10.111 l/j.1467-6419.2009.00592.x. Print version forthcoming.Google Scholar
Kaoru, Y. 1993. “Differentiating Use and Nonuse Values for Coastal Pond Water Quality Improvements.” Environmental and Resource Economics 3(5): 487–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kristófersson, D., and Navrud, S. 2007. Can Use and Non-Use Values be Transferred Across Countries? In Navrud, S. and Ready, R., eds., Environmental Value Transfer: Issues and Methods. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.Google Scholar
Lant, C.L., and Roberts, R.S. 1990. “Greenbelts in the Cornbelt: Riparian Wetlands, Intrinsic Values, and Market Failure.” Environment and Planning A 22(10): 1375–1388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindhjem, H., and Navrud, S. 2008. “How Reliable Are Metaanalyses for International Benefit Transfers?” Ecological Economics 66(2-3): 425–435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loomis, J.B. 1996. “How Large is the Extent of the Market for Public Goods: Evidence from a Nationwide Contingent Valuation Survey.” Applied Economics 28(7): 779–782.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyke, A.J. 1993. “Discrete Choice Models to Value Changes in Environmental Quality: A Great Lakes Case Study.” Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison.Google Scholar
Magat, W.A., Huber, J., Viscusi, K.W., and Bell, J. 2000. “An Iterative Choice Approach to Valuing Clean Lakes, Rivers, and Streams.” Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 21(1): 7–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthews, L.G., Homans, F.R., and Easter, K.W. 1999. “Reducing Phosphorous Pollution in the Minnesota River: How Much Is It Worth?” Unpublished report, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota. Document on file with the authors.Google Scholar
McClelland, N.I. 1974. “Water Quality Index Application in the Kansas River Basin.” EPA-907/9-74-001, U.S. EPA Region VII, Kansas City, MO.Google Scholar
Mitchell, R.C., and Carson, R.T. 1981. “An Experiment in Determining Willingness to Pay for National Water Quality Improvements.” Unpublished preliminary draft report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future. Document on file with the authors.Google Scholar
Mitchell, R.C., and Carson, R.T. 1989. Using Surveys to Value Public Goods: The Contingent Valuation Method. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future.Google Scholar
Moeltner, K., Boyle, K.J., and Patterson, R.W. 2007. “Meta-analysis and Benefit Transfer for Resource Valuation—Addressing Classical Challenges with Bayesian Modeling.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 53(2): 250–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, J.P., and Kennedy, P.E. 2009. “The Use (and Abuse) of Meta-Analysis in Environmental and Resource Economics: An Assessment.” Environmental and Resource Economics 42(3): 345–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsen, D., Richards, J., and Scott, R.D. 1991. “Existence and Sport Values for Doubling the Size of Columbia River Basin Salmon and Steelhead Runs.” Rivers 2(1): 44–56.Google Scholar
Poe, G.L., Boyle, K.J., and Bergstrom, J.C. 2001. “A Preliminary Meta Analysis of Contingent Values for Ground Water Quality Revisited.” In Bergstrom, J.C., Boyle, K.J., and Poe, G.L., eds., The Economic Value of Water Quality. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Ready, R., Navrud, S., Day, B., Dubourg, R., Machado, F., Mourato, S., Spanninks, F., and Rodriquez, M.X.V. 2004. “Benefit Transfer in Europe: How Reliable Are Transfers between Countries?” Environmental and Resource Economics 29(1): 67–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ready, R., and Navrud, S. 2006. “International Benefit Transfer: Methods and Validity Test.” Ecological Economics 60(2): 429–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, L.A., and Leitch, J.A. 1997. “Economic Valuation of Some Wetland Outputs of Mud Lake.” Agricultural Economics Report No. 381, Department of Agricultural Economics, North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, North Dakota State University.Google Scholar
Rosenberger, R.S., and Johnston, R.J. 2009. “Selection Effects in Meta-Analysis and Benefit Transfer: Avoiding Unintended Consequences.” Land Economics 85(3): 410–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenberger, R.S., and Loomis, J.B. 2000. “Using Meta-Analysis for Benefit Transfer: In-Sample Convergent Validity Tests of an Outdoor Recreation Database.” Water Resources Research 36(4): 1097–1107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenberger, R.S., and Stanley, T.D. 2006. “Measurement, Generalization, and Publication: Sources of Error in Benefit Transfers and their Management.” Ecological Economics 60(2): 372–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowe, R.D., Schulze, W.D., Hurd, B., and Orr, D. 1985. Economic Assessment of Damage Related to the Eagle Mine Facility. Unpublished report, Energy and Resource Consultants, Boulder, CO. Document on file with the authors.Google Scholar
Sanders, L. B., Walsh, R.G., and Loomis, J.B. 1990. “Toward Empirical Estimation of the Total Value of Protecting Rivers.” Water Resources Research 26(7): 1345–1357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, J.M.L. 1998. The Economic Valuation of Landscape Change: Theory and Policies for Land Use and Conservation. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Santos, J.M.L. 2007. Transferring Landscape Values: How and How Accurately? In Navrud, S. and Ready, R., eds., Environmental Value Transfer: Issues and Methods. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.Google Scholar
Schulze, W.D., Rowe, R.D., Breffle, W.S., Boyce, R.R., and McClelland, G.H. 1995. “Contingent Valuation of Natural Resource Damages Due to Injuries to the Upper Clark Fork River Basin.” State of Montana, Natural Resource Damage Litigation Program. Boulder, CO: RCG/Hagler Bailly.Google Scholar
Shrestha, R.K., and Loomis, J.B. 2003. “Meta-Analytic Benefit Transfer of Outdoor Recreation Economic Values: Testing Out-of-Sample Convergent Validity.” Environmental and Resource Economics 25(1): 79–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, V.K., Van Houtven, G., and Pattanayak, S.K. 2002. “Benefit Transfer via Preference Calibration: ‘Prudential Algebra’ for Policy.” Land Economics 78(1): 132–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, V.K., and Pattanayak, S.K. 2002. “Is Meta-Analysis a Noah's Ark for Non-Market Valuation?” Environmental and Resource Economics 22(1-2): 271–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stapler, R.W., and Johnston, R.J. 2009. “Meta-Analysis, Benefit Transfer, and Methodological Covariates: Implications for Transfer Error.” Environmental and Resource Economics 42(2): 227–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Statistics Canada. 2007. “The Consumer Price Index.” Catalogue no. 62-001-XIE, Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada.Google Scholar
Stumborg, B.E., Baerenklau, K.A., and Bishop, R.C. 2001. “Nonpoint Source Pollution and Present Values: A Contingent Valuation of Lake Mendota.” Review of Agricultural Economics. 23(1): 120–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sutherland, R.J., and Walsh, R.G. 1985. “Effect of Distance on the Preservation Value of Water Quality.” Land Economics 61(3): 282–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Houtven, G., Powers, J., and Pattanayak, S.K. 2007. “Valuing Water Quality Improvements in the United States Using Meta-analysis: Is the Glass Half-full or Half-empty for National Policy Analysis?” Resource and Energy Economics 29(3): 206–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vaughan, W.J. 1986. “The RFF Water Quality Ladder.” Appendix B in Mitchell, R.C. and Carson, R.T. The Use of Contingent Valuation Data for Benefit/Cost Analysis in Water Pollution Control, Final Report. Washington: Resources for the Future.Google Scholar
Welle, P.G. 1986. “Potential Economic Impacts of Acid Deposition: A Contingent Valuation Study of Minnesota.” PhD. dissertation, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison.Google Scholar
Wey, K.A. 1990. “Social Welfare Analysis of Congestion and Water Quality of Great Salt Pond, Block Island, Rhode Island.” Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Resource Economics, University of Rhode Island.Google Scholar
Whitehead, J.C., and Groothuis, P.A. 1992. “Economic Benefits of Improved Water Quality: A Case Study of North Carolina's Tar-Pamlico River.” Rivers 3(3): 170–178.Google Scholar
Whitehead, J.C., Blomquist, G.C., Hoban, T.J., and Clifford, W.B. 1995. “Assessing the Validity and Reliability of Contingent Values: A Comparison of On-Site Users, Off-Site Users, and Non-users.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 29(2): 238–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whittington, D., Cassidy, G., Amaral, D., McClelland, E., Wang, H., and Poulos, C. 1994. “The Economic Value of Improving the Environmental Quality of Galveston Bay.” GBNEP-38, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Google Scholar