A holistic vs. an attribute-based approach to agri-environmental policy valuation: do welfare estimates differ?

Citation

Hynes S, Campbell D & Howley P (2011) A holistic vs. an attribute-based approach to agri-environmental policy valuation: do welfare estimates differ?. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 62 (2), pp. 305-329. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-9552.2010.00287.x

Abstract
Different economic valuation methodologies can be used to value the non-market benefits of an agri-environmental scheme. In particular, the non-market value can be examined by assessing the public's willingness to pay for the policy outputs as a whole or by modelling the preferences of society for the component attributes of the rural landscape that result from the implementation of the policy. In this article we examine whether the welfare values estimated for an agri-environmental policy are significantly different between an holistic valuation methodology (using contingent valuation) and an attribute-based valuation methodology (choice experiment). It is argued that the valuation methodology chosen should be based on whether or not the overall objective is the valuation of the agri-environment policy package in its entirety or the valuation of each of the policy's distinct environmental outputs.

Keywords
Attribute vs. holistic values; choice experiments; contingent valuation; environmental goods and services; environmental policy; latent class models; non-market valuation; preference heterogeneity

Journal
Journal of Agricultural Economics: Volume 62, Issue 2