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What's the Use? Welfare Estimates from Revealed Preference Models When Weak Complementarity Does Not Hold
CARD Working Papers
  • Joseph A. Herriges, Iowa State University
  • Catherine L. Kling, Iowa State University
  • Daniel J. Phaneuf, North Carolina State University
Publication Date
11-1-2000
Series Number
00-WP 258
Abstract
The focal point of the revealed preference (RP) valuation literature, including recreation demand and random utility maximization (RUM) models, has been on eliciting the “use” value associated with environmental amenities; i.e., that portion of value associated with direct use of a resource. Mäler’s (1974) concept of weak complementarity is typically invoked to justify this focus. Indeed, weak complementarity explicitly or implicitly underlies most of the RP literature. In this paper, we consider the measurement of welfare in RP models when weak complementarity does not hold. In particular, the Kuhn-Tucker (KT) framework (e.g., Phaneuf et al. 2000) does not impose weak complementarity a priori, raising the possibility of rejecting weakly complementary in estimation and the question as to what is the proper welfare measure to report. Although existence value cannot be measured, we argue that in some circumstances there are components of total value outside of use value onto which RP methods may be able to shed light.
Publication Information

This working paper was published as Herriges, Joseph A., Catherine L. Kling and Daniel J. Phaneuf, "What's the use? welfare estimates from revealed preference models when weak complementarity does not hold," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 47 (2004): 55–70, doi:10.1016/S0095-0696(03)00058-5.

Citation Information
Joseph A. Herriges, Catherine L. Kling and Daniel J. Phaneuf. "What's the Use? Welfare Estimates from Revealed Preference Models When Weak Complementarity Does Not Hold" (2000)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/catherine_kling/28/