CV is usually the only feasible method for including passive-use considerations in an economic analysis, a practice that has engendered considerable controversy.

This talk will firstly address the issue of what a CV study tries to value from the perspective of a policy-maker, and then the controversy over the inclusion of passive-use is taken up in more detail.

The major issues and positions taken in the debate over the use of CV are summarized from a user's perspective. Key design and implementation issues involved in undertaking a CV survey are examined, and Professor Carson will present a set of factors to examine in assessing the quality of a CV study.

About Richard Carson
Richard Carson has extensive experience in the assessment of the benefits and costs of environmental policies. His specialty is valuing non-marketed and new goods using a wide array of techniques.

He received a Ph.D. in resource economics and M.A. in statistics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1985 and an M.A. in international relations from George Washington University in 1979.

Professor Carson has been a consultant to a number of non-profit organizations, major corporations, and government agencies, including the California Attorney General's Office, the U.S. Forest Service, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the World Bank.

He is co-author of the recent book "Both Sides of the Border: Transboundary Environmental Management Issues Facing Mexico and the United States" and co-author of "Using Surveys to Value Public Goods: The Contingent Valuation Method", which won the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists' Publication of Enduring Quality Award in 1999.