CONSISTENCY BETWEEN CONTINGENT VALUATION ESTIMATES - A COMPARISON OF 2 STUDIES OF UK NATIONAL-PARKS

Recent years have seen a significant increase in the application of the contingent valuation method to the evaluation of environmental preferences in the UK. Recent theoretical and methodological developments suggest that this increase is likely to be sustained for the foreseeable future. This paper examines the issue of consistency across studies carried out to date in the UK. Attention is initially focused upon two major studies which allow the comparison of a number of findings. Analysis is then extended to a large number of smaller studies. These comparisons suggest that the results obtained to date are both consistent and logically ordered (with reference to the environmental good and the change in provision under consideration) across studies.