Contingent Valuation Method

The contingent valuation method (CVM) is a survey-based stated-preference technique for estimating the economic value people place on goods that are not traded in markets — clean air, an endangered species, a wilderness area, the existence of a natural resource. Respondents are presented with a carefully constructed hypothetical scenario and asked how much they would be willing to pay for a described change in provision; their answers are used to estimate mean or median willingness to pay, including non-use (existence) values that no market reveals.