This paper proposes a method by which estimates of hypothetical willingness to pay for public goods with passive-use value can be compared with actual willingness to pay inferred from aggregate voting and tax liability data.

We estimate and compare two empirical measures of the weak sustainability of an economy for the first time: the change in augmented green net national product (GNNP), and the interest on augmented genuine savings (GS). Yearly calculations are given for each measure for Scotland during 1992-99....

In this paper we explore the idea that people only know the value they place on a given environmental change as a range, rather than as a singleton. We use the payment ladder design of contingent valuation, and take as a case study the value of coastal water quality improvements in Scotland....

Recent moves in the European Union have been made towards a toughening of legislation on bathing water quality. This has focussed policy-makers thoughts on the welfare benefits resulting from such improvements, especially given their cost. Our paper uses a combined stated and revealed preference...

An economic analysis of policies to control nonpoint source nitrate pollution in the presence of minimum river flow restrictions was undertaken. A non-linear bio-physical economic optimisation model of an intensively cultivated Scottish agricultural catchment was constructed. The presence of...

Benefits from providing a local public good such as landscape protection may depend on individuals’ physical surroundings, as well as on socio-economic factors such as income. A framework is formulated that describes public support for regional landscape protection as a function of...

Controversy remains over the degree of hypothetical bias in contingent valutation method (CVM) estimates of values for public goods, especially for public goods with significant passive-use values. This paper uses an 'indifferent voter' approach to calibrate stated WTP for a proposed public good...