Abstract
This chapter compares direct and indirect approaches for measuring individuals’ values of improved water quality. Generally, economists prefer data that are derived from circumstances in which individuals have a financial stake in the outcome. Thus, it is not surprising that they prefer the indirect approaches for estimating benefits, all else being equal. For many environmental applications, however, all else is not equal. Either indirect approaches are unavailable, or the motives for observable household decisions cannot be untangled, given existing theory and data. Because of these reasons, direct methods will remain a prominent part of the benefit estimation picture. Whether economists will alter the order of preferred approaches is another matter.
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© 1986 Kluwer-Nijhoff Publishing, Boston
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Smith, V.K., Desvousges, W.H. (1986). Comparing Direct and Indirect Benefit Estimation Approaches. In: Measuring Water Quality Benefits. International Series in Economic Modeling, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4223-3_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4223-3_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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