PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Research Article STATED WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR PUBLIC GOODS: A Psychological Perspective

Abstract-In the contingellt valuation methodfor the mluation ofpublic goods, survey respondellts are asked to indicate the amount they are willing to pay (WTP) for the provision of a good. We contrast economic and psychological analyses of WTP and describe a study in which respondents indicated their \vTP to prevellt or to remedy threats to public health or to the environmellt, attributed either to human or to natural causes. WTP was signijicalltly higher when the cause of a harm was human, though the effect was not large. The means ofWTP for 16 issues were highly correlated with the means ofother mea-sures ofattitllde, including a simple rating ofthe importance of the threat. The responses are better described as expressions of attitudes than as indications ofeconomic value, contrary to the assumptions of the cOlllingellt valuation method. Many people are willing to pay for public goods from whic