A constructive approach to air-quality valuation in Korea

Abstract This paper uses a new constructive contingent valuation approach, based on the value-structuring capabilities of multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) to help respondents construct and express environmental value judgments in monetary terms. The MAUT approach adopts a ‘decomposition’ procedure, which seems to be more in harmony with the constructive nature of human values and the coping strategies of respondents dealing with complexity. We provide an application of the approach in a survey of random population samples, where we seek valuation of specific damages due to air pollution in Seoul, Korea, a developing country where the economic valuation of environmental impacts remains scarce. A discussion of the results is also presented. The overall results show that although empirical evidence is sparse, there appears to be considerable scope for the use of the approach in environmental valuations.

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