Improving environmental valuation estimates through consistent use of revealed and stated preference information

Environmental valuation data from stated and revealed preference methods are integrated into a unified model of preferences for environmental quality improvement that identifies the “use” and “nonuse” components of the total value estimate. This articulates clearly what parts of the total value estimate come from each type of data, and permits tests of whether estimated preferences satisfy weak complementarity between the environmental good of interest and related private goods. The statistical advantages of using more information for the valuation problem are exploited, while retaining flexibility to identify value estimates from any individual method of analysis.