Evaluation of the Utility Function of an Environmental Asset : Contingent Valuation Method

The aim of this paper is to introduce Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) as an efficient technique allowing to modify the utility level of an economic agent following the consumption of environmental goods. In the absence of market for natural assets, the CVM allows us to create a hypothetical market to evaluate the economic value of these assets through purchase and sale transactions. However, this valuation can be constrained by the quality problem of the varying physical nature of these environmental assets. The theoretical framework shows that a change in the utility function and consumer surplus on the one hand, and price and profit of the monopoly on the other, is needed to ensure economic efficiency and social equity