Valuation of nonmarket goods for use in cost-benefit analyses: Methodological issues. Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor Scientiarum

The subject of this thesis is how to value nonmarket goods when the valuations are to be used in cost-benefit analysis. Two different Stated Preference valuation methods are used in the five papers that constitute the thesis, Stated Choice and Contingent Valuation. A main result in the thesis is that Stated Choice is a valuation method that may collect so much data noise that the valuation results are affected. Therefore, the elicitation methods should be made sufficiently simple that people are able to state their preferences in response to the presented choice set. Another main result is that a simultaneous valuation procedure, accounting for interactions between the nonmarket goods included in cost-benefit analysis for road investments, significantly reduces the valuations compared to a separate valuation procedure. In the methodological discussion of how to value nonmarket goods for use in cost-benefit analysis, the choice of valuation context seems, therefore, to be an important issue.