An experiment in contingent valuation: Willingness to pay for stormwater management. [Homeowners in Baltimore County]

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:7261320

Lindsey, G H

The contingent valuation (CV) method is a technique used frequently in benefit-cost analysis to estimate the economic value of non-market goods such as environmental quality. In CV, surveys are used to ask people about their willingness to pay for a good in a hypothetical market situation. In this application, homeowners in Baltimore County were asked about their willingness to pay (WTP) for programs to control pollutants in urban stormwater runoff designed to achieve, respectively, 4% and 1% reductions in nutrient loadings to the Chesapeake Bay. The main variation comprised alternate descriptions of the payment vehicle. Tests show that the mean WTP by means of property taxes does not differ significantly from mean WTP via user charges. This result was somewhat surprising because of other evidence that the respondents believe strongly that user charges are fairer than property taxes. A best estimate of the benefits to homeowners in Baltimore County of controlling nutrient loads for urban stormwater is from $1.2 to $4.2 million annually, depending on the reduction objective.

• Research Organization: Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States)
• OSTI ID: 7261320
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290300 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
CONTROL
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
HOUSEHOLDS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LIQUID WASTES
MARYLAND
MASS TRANSFER
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION CONTROL
RUNOFF
USA
WASTE WATER
WASTES
WATER
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL