Comparing willingness-to-pay and subjective well-being in the context of non-market goods
By: Paul Dolan and Robert Metcalfe.
Contributors: Metcalfe, Robert; London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance.
Series: CEP discussion paper -- no. 890
Publisher: Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics and Political Science
Published: 2008
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Description: In order to value non-market goods, economists estimate individuals' willingness to pay (WTP) for these goods using revealed or stated preference methods. We compare these conventional approaches with subjective well-being (SWB), which is based on individuals' ratings of their happiness or life satisfaction rather than on their preferences. In the context of a quasi- experiment in urban regeneration, we find that monetary estimates from SWB data are significantly higher than from revealed and stated preference data. Stigma in revealed preferences, mental accounting in stated preferences and unspecified duration in SWB ratings might explain some of the difference between the valuation methods.
Notes: Title from PDF file (viewed on Oct. 10, 2008).

"October 2008."

Includes bibliographical references.

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