Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture No. 4/06
Use of stated preference methods for environmental payments in Japan: comparison of contingent valuation method and choice experiments
Mitsuyasu Yabe
Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Kentaro Yoshida
University of Tsukuba, Japan
Abstract
Shiga Prefecture in Japan has been working with its residents,
including farmers, to improve the water quality of Lake Biwa for more
than 30 years and has introduced cost-benefit analysis for a new
environmental payment system in agricultural policy. This study
evaluates the benefit of this system and compares the results of the
contingent valuation method (CVM) and choice experiments (CE). The
payment scenario in CVM was protested by 42% of the respondents despite
accepting the value of conservation agriculture itself. In the CE,
however, the rate of ‘protest bids’ was only 9%. This study thus shows
that CE have good characteristics in terms of protest bids and can be
applied for assessing agricultural environment policies.
Keywords: contingent valuation; choice-based conjoint analysis; environmental evaluation; protest bids; water quality
JEL: Q18, Q25, Q53
Vol. 45 (2006), No. 4: 437-453