

@mastersthesis {6192,
	title = {The value of groundwater protection: {Measurement} of willingness-to-pay information, and its utilization by local government decisionmakers},
	year = {1991},
	note = {9113273},
	school = {Cornell University},
	type = {phdPh.{D}.},
	address = {Ann Arbor},
	abstract = {A contingent valuation survey was conducted on households in 12 communities in Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. Each community relies on groundwater for its public water supply and seven have experienced public water supply contamination in the past ten years. Large differences in willingness-to-pay for increased water supply protection were found, both within and across communities. Significant differences in household willingness-to-pay were found between groups that have, and groups that have not, experienced water supply contamination. Regression analysis revealed that income, experience of a contamination incident, perception of water supply safety, and perception of potential sources of contamination, significantly affect household willingness-to-pay for increased protection. Personal interviews were conducted with key informants in each community to ascertain perceptions of the groundwater resource, and attitudes to contamination and protection of drinking water supplies. Content analysis of the interviews provided evidence that a contamination of public water supplies has little impact on the adoption of local ordinances to protect water sources. Water supply source protection was found to be the result of the interaction between hydrogeologic characteristics, local perception of those characteristics, state and local institutional organization, and the perceived level of community growth. Content analysis of the interviews supplied five water supply protection concepts which were used, along with willingness-to-pay for increased water supply protection, in a cognitive mapping technique. Results suggest that contingent value information has an impact on key informant{\textquoteright}s understanding of the causal relationships between the six concepts. It is proposed that the utility of contingent valuation information on public goods, lies in its capacity to enrich the decision-making environment, rather than in the dollar figures obtained.},
	keywords = {0501:Economics, 0617:Public administration, 0630:Welfare, Contingent valuation method, economics, Public administration, Social sciences, Welfare},
	url = {http://search.proquest.com/docview/303936818?accountid=14270},
	author = {Powell, John Reed}
}
