Files
Abstract
Environmental valuation is the branch of environmental economics in which researchers
estimate the economic value of environmental goods and services. Environmental valuation
has been practiced for decades. However, there are some ideas in the field of environmental
valuation held by many environmental economists and nonenvironmental economists that
appear to be outdated. This article discusses three such ideas: 1) that it is better to estimate
willingness-to-pay values than willingness-to-accept values; 2) that stated preference valuation
methods are questionable because they are based on hypothetical choices rather than
real choices; and 3) that it is better to use a repeated-choice question format than a singlechoice
format in choice experiments. We discuss the origins of each idea and why the idea
became prevalent in the first place.We then review recent literature, which casts doubt on the
idea.We conclude with a reminder for researchers—in environmental economics and in other
economic fields—to periodically reassess ideas they currently hold in light of recent research
developments and in light of the context in which they are used.