CHAPTER IV 

 CONTINGENT VALUATION ESTIMATES OF CONSUMER SURPLUS 



Contingent Valuation Questions Asked 



The Montana Waterfowl Hunting Survey asked hunters to answer 

 questions on a number of aspects of their most recent hunting 

 trip. For economic modeling purposes, two contingent valuation 

 questions were asked regarding a specific trip the hunter made 

 during the 1989 waterfowl hunting season. The first question 

 asked the hunter to place a value on either their first or last 

 waterfowl hunting trip of the season. This question asked: 



Suppose that everything about your "FIRST" ("LAST") hunt was 

 the same except your trip costs had been $ X more, would 

 you still have made the trip? 



The hunter would answer this dichotomous choice CVM question by 

 checking either Yes or No. The dollar amount $ X was one of 9 

 predetermined bid levels ranging from $ 5 to $ 500. This amount 

 was varied randomly across questionnaires. 



Following this question was a dichotomous choice CVM question 

 presenting hunters with hypothetical changes in either their 

 first or last trip of the season and asking them how they would 

 value those changes. This hypothetical question was as follows: 



Now imagine that everything about your "FIRST" ("LAST") hunt 

 was the same, except that you saw twice as many birds and 

 the bag limit was more liberal (or you saw half the number 

 of birds and the bag limit was more conservative) , and your 

 trip cost to visit this site increased by $ X . would you 

 still have made the trip? 



The goal of asking this hypothetical question was to determine 

 hunters willingness to pay for alternative waterfowl hunting 

 opportunities. As in the current trip question, the dollar 

 amount asked varied between $ 5 and $ 500 among respondents. 



Outlier and Protest Responses 



In the analysis of CVM responses there are two groups of 

 respondents who should be excluded from the sample before any 

 analysis occurs. The first is that group who indicate a 

 willingness to pay the stated bid amount but who would not 

 actually be able to pay that amount given their income. The 

 standard economic definition of demand requires both a 

 willingness and an ability to pay. Therefore those respondents 

 who indicate a willingness but lack the ability to pay the bid 



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