This paper examines the effect of the researcher's definition of a recreator's choice set on the parameter and welfare estimates from standard random utility models. Three choice set definitions are compared: choice sets based on all alternatives within the survey, those alternatives within a...

Innovations in the estimation of referendum type contingent valuation models have led to willingness-to-pay (WTP) measures inconsistent with consumer preferences and unbounded from above or below. We propose a set of criteria which guarantee a bounded measure of WTP. The criteria reject the...

We test for incentive incompatibility and starting-point bias to describe the effects of iterative valuation questions on willingness to pay. We compare double-, triple-, and multiplebounded models with data from two surveys with similar designs of the valuation questions. We find that incentive...

This paper extends variation function theory by examining the effects of changes in prices, quality, and income on willingness to pay for quality change. Comparative static effects are found for both on-site users and nonusers of the resource. These results are used to interpret contingent...

We develop a temporal reliability test of the contingent valuation method. Separate random samples were administered the same telephone survey five years apart. In the retest, respondents have less favorable attitudes toward the environment. Given this result, a temporally reliable contingent...