Paper Number: EE-0436

Document Date: 10/13/2000

Author(s):  Environmental Law Institute

Subject Area(s):

Economic Analysis, Stated Preference Survey, Benefits Valuation

Keywords: Economic Analysis, Stated Preference Survey, Benefits Valuation

Summary: 

The purpose of the Environmental Policy and Economics Workshop Series is to hold in-depth workshops on timely topics that will further the use of economics as a tool for environmental decision making. Both NSF/EPA grant recipients and researchers (from EPA, fellow Federal agencies, academia, and others) will be invited to attend and discuss their on-going research. Topics will be chosen based on relevance to current EPA issues and, more broadly, to issues of concern to the environmental economics community. These topics include exploration of innovations in economic research methods as well as how research will further environmental policy making and future environmental economic studies.

This two day workshop sponsored by EPA's National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) and EPA's National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE) explored the current state of stated preference research - taking stock of how the field has advanced since the NOAA panel and discussing the direction future research should take in order to help inform policy decisions. The workshop consisted of three sessions (theory and design, validity, and applications - health and ecosystems) followed by a panel discussion, "The NOAA Panel and the Seven Year Itch."

Introduction

Introductory Remarks by Rick Farrell, Associate Administrator for US EPA Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation

Session I: Theory and Design of Stated Preference Methods

• Incentive and Informational Properties of Preference Questions, by Richard Carson, Theodore Groves, and Mark Machina. Presented by Richard Carson.
• Optimal Design for Choice Experiments for Nonmarket Valuation, by Barbara Kanninen. Presented by Barbara Kanninen.
• Constructed Preferences and Environmental Valuation, by John Payne and David Schkade. Presented by John Payne — Summarization.
• Policy Discussion for Session I by Julie Hewitt, US EPA National Center for Environmental Economics
• Policy Discussion for Session I by John Horowitz, University of Maryland
• Question and Answer Period for Session I

Session II: Validity of Stated Preference Methods Page

• The Value of Visibility: A Comparison of Stated Preference Methods, by John Halstead, T.H. Stevens, W. Harper, I. Porras, L.B. Hill, T. Walket, and C. Willis. Presented by John Halstead.
• Compensating for Public Harms: Why Public Goods are Preferred to Money, by Carol Mansfield, George van Houtven, and Joel Huber. Presented by Carol Mansfield — Summarization.
• Progress Toward Comparing Stated Preference and Real Money Contingent Values, by Stephen Swallow, Michael Spencer and Laurienne Whinstanley. Presented by Stephen Swallow.
• Ask a Hypothetical Question, Get a Valuable Answer?, by Christopher D. Azevedo, Joseph A. Herriges, and Catherine L. Kling. Presented by Joseph A. Herriges.
• Policy Discussion for Session II by Kelly Brown, US EPA National Center for Environmental Economics
• Discussion for Session II by Anna Alberini, University of Maryland
• Question and Answer Period for Session II

Session III: Applications of Stated Preference Methods to Ecosystem and Health Issues

Session IIIa: Ecosystem

• Do Wetlands Kill Trees?: Knowledge as an Input in Ecosystem Valuation, by John Hoehn, Frank Lupi, and Michael Kaplowitz. Presented by John Hoehn and Frank Lupi.
• Strength of Preference Indicators and Discrete Choice Models, by Stephen Swallow, James Opaluch, and Thomas Weaver. Presented by James Opaluch — Summarization.
• Policy Discussion for Session IIIa by Daniel Hellerstein, USDA Economic Research Service

Session IIIb: Health

• Evaluating Contingent Valuation of Environmental Health Risks: The Proportionality Test, by James Hammitt. Presented by James Hammitt.
• Age, Health, and the Willingness to Pay for Mortality Risk Reductions: A Contingent Valuation Survey of Ontario Residents, by Alan Krupnick, Anna Alberini, Maureen Cropper, Nathalie Simon, Bernie O’Brien, Ron Goeree, and Martin Heintzelman. Presented by Maureen Cropper — Summarization.
• Policy Discussion for Session IIIb by Steve Crutchfield, USDA Economic Research Service
• Question and Answer Period for Session III

Session IV Proceedings: Panel Discussion: “The NOAA Panel and the Seven-Year Itch” Page

• Introduction
• Recap of the NOAA Guidelines by Nicole Owens, US EPA National Center for Environmental Economics
• Discussion of Questions 1 & 4, by Richard Carson, University of California, San Diego
• Discussion of Questions 3 & 4, by David Chapman, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Discussion of Questions 2 and 4, by Maureen Cropper, World Bank and University of Maryland
• The Health Canada Perspective, by Paul De Civita, Health Canada
• What Have We Learned Since the NOAA Panel?, by Michael Hanemann, University of California, Berkeley
• Discussion of Questions 2, 3, & 4, by Carol A. Jones, Associate Director for Research, Resource Economics Division, USDA Economic Research Service
• Stated Preferences: An Outsider’s View, by Randall Lutter, American Enterprise Institute-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies
• Discussion of Questions 3 & 4, by Al McGartland, Director, US EPA National Center for Environmental Economics
• Responses to the Itch, by Kerry Smith, North Carolina State University
• Question and Answer Period for Session IV

This workshop is part of the Environmental Policy and Economics Workshop Series.

• Stated Preference: What Do We Know? Where Do We Go? (PDF)(262 pp, 804 K, 10/13/2000, EE-0436)
  Two day workshop sponsored by EPA's National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) and National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE) explored the current state of stated preference research - taking stock of how the field has advanced since the NOAA panel and discussing the direction future research should take in order to help inform policy decisions. Workshop had three sessions (theory and design, validity, and applications - health and ecosystems), and panel on NOAA Panel and Seven Yr