CONTINGENT VALUATION OF A PUBLIC PROGRAM TO CONTROL BLACK FLIES

Contingent valuation is used to measure the benefits of a proposed public program to control black flies. Respondents' reported values are analyzed from three perspectives: data outliners, consistency between respondents' reported values and their perceptions of black flies, and the temporal reliability of the values expressed by respondents. The results suggest that the estimated contingent values are plausible even though a majority of respondents expressed a value of zero dollars for the black fly control program.