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Benefit Transfer in Europe: How Reliable Are Transfers between Countries?

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Abstract

The benefits for specific health impacts related to air and water quality were measured in simultaneous contingent valuation surveys conducted in five different European countries. Consistent inter-country differences in willingness to pay to avoid ill health episodes could not be explained by measurable differences in individual characteristics. International transfer of unit values resulted in an average transfer error of 38%. Accounting for measurable differences among countries in health status, income and other demographic measures, either through ad hoc adjustments to the transferred values or through value function transfer, did not improve transfer performance.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 112-A Armsby Building, PA, 16802, USA

    Richard Ready

  2. Agricultural University of Norway, Norway

    Ståle Navrud

  3. Centre for Social and Economics Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE), University College London, UK

    Brett Day

  4. University of East Anglia, UK

    Brett Day

  5. Home Office, London, UK

    Richard Dubourg

  6. Catholic University of Portugal, Portugal

    Fernando Machado

  7. Imperial College, London, UK

    Susana Mourato

  8. Amsterdam Free University, The Netherlands

    Frank Spanninks

  9. University of Vigo, Spain

    Maria Xosé Vázquez Rodriquez

Authors
  1. Richard Ready
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  2. Ståle Navrud
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  3. Brett Day
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  4. Richard Dubourg
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  5. Fernando Machado
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  6. Susana Mourato
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  7. Frank Spanninks
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  8. Maria Xosé Vázquez Rodriquez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard Ready.

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Ready, R., Navrud, S., Day, B. et al. Benefit Transfer in Europe: How Reliable Are Transfers between Countries?. Environmental and Resource Economics 29, 67–82 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EARE.0000035441.37039.8a

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EARE.0000035441.37039.8a

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