The Impact of Information on Environmental Commodity Valuation Decisions

A conceptual model is developed which provides insight into how information affects willingness to pay for environmental commodities. A refutable hypothesis of the effects of a specific information type on the magnitude of willingness to pay for an environmental commodity is developed. This hypothesis is tested using a contingent valuation method experiment. Results indicate that information affects willingness to pay in a theoretically plausible manner. The results support the contention that information is important for accurate environmental commodity consumer valuations.

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