The application of the contingent valuation method to environmental resources has been criticised on the grounds that individuals' responses are thought to be motivated by considerations not strictly relevant to economic valuation, thus leading to observed anomalies such as scope insensitivity....

The paper introduces the reader to the contingent valuation method for monetary valuation of individuals preferences regarding changes to environmental goods. Approaches to the validity testing of results from such studies are discussed. These focus upon whether findings conform to prior...

In this paper we argue that the burgeoning empirical debate over scope sensitivity within contingent valuation studies is fundamentally incomplete in that the effect of study design upon observed scope has largely been ignored. In particular we highlight the frequently overlooked fact that in...