Valuing of environmental quality - stated and revealed preferences comparison

Economic valuation of natural resources and the quality of the environment is gaining importance in environmental protection in the Western countries. A wide variety of non-market valuation methods has been developed for this purpose. The contingent valuation method, which is based on stated preferences, has a special position among the group of preference methods. Its validity has been tested many times with contradictory results. In the CR, there is hardly any experience with non-market valuation methods. Two case studies performed on representative samples of the Czech population, both of them dealing with ground water quality, are described. An averting behavior method based on bottled water purchases is used to disclose revealed preferences. The results are compared with ones of an older contigent valuation study. The revealed preferences for drinking water of high quality are found to be more than three times higher than stated preferences. Possible reasons of this difference and biases are discussed.