Use of Dichotomous Choice Nonmarket Methods to Value the Whooping Crane Resource

Abstract

Abstract A dichotomous choice form of contingent valuation is applied to quantify individuals' economic surplus associated with preservation of the whooping crane resource. Specific issues and limitations of the empirical approach are discussed. The results of this case study reveal that models with similar statistical fits can lead to very disparate measures of economic value, regardless of whether the mean or median is chosen to estimate average willingness to pay. Such results suggest caution is necessary when applying dichotomous choice models in contingent valuation.