@article{Melo:230001,
      recid = {230001},
      author = {Melo, Grace},
      title = {Valuing Groundwater Quality: Does Averting Behavior  Matter?},
      address = {2016},
      number = {1376-2016-109598},
      year = {2016},
      abstract = {Contingent valuation (CV) or defensive behavior data is  often used to estimate the economic value of water quality.  Although combining these data (i.e., stated and revealed  preferences) mitigates the potential bias from using either  type of information, the costs of collecting both could  overwhelm the benefits. We attempt to find a convenient  estimation method by using a proxy indicator for revealed  preferences in the analysis of stated preference data.  Specifically, this study explores the effect of  individuals’ reported defensive behavior on their stated  preferences for groundwater quality.  Logit models based on  random utility theory were estimated using referendum CV  data at household level collected in Maine, US. The results  suggest that failure in accounting for defensive behavior  in the valuation could result in a bias willingness to pay  estimate for groundwater quality. We also found that the  monetary value for groundwater quality was small, even  though subsoil water constituted an important drinking  water supply in the survey period. The results also  revealed that respondents’ averting behavior were mainly  influenced by their perception of groundwater quality.  Implications of our findings for welfare analysis are  discussed.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/230001},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.230001},
}