The revealed-preferences method involves determining the value that consumers hold for an environmental good by observing their purchase of goods in the market that directly (or indirectly) relate to environmental quality. For example, the purchase of air fresheners, noise-reducing materials, and water-purification systems reveal the minimum amount individuals would be willing to pay for improved air and water quality. That revealed-preferences method is called the household production approach. Economists can also use revealed preferences to determine the value of clean air and clean water through differences in home prices between pristine and polluted areas. That revealed-preferences method is called the hedonic approach.
The household production and hedonic approaches have the advantage of relying on actual consumer choices to infer the value society holds for a particular environmental good, rather than relying on hypothetical scenarios. Valuation techniques are useful not only in cost-benefit analyses or in cases of extreme environmental damage but also in the subtler cases of environmental degradation that occur as a result of market failure. However, there are some environmental goods for which it can be nearly impossible to identify values through market interactions. For example, using the revealed-preferences method to determine the value that society holds for the survival of an endangered species poses a tremendous challenge. In such cases, revealed preferences may not be the preferred method of valuation.
Revealed-preferences methods have been commonly used by researchers since the late 20th century to determine the value society holds for clean air and clean water. For example, housing prices declined in the town of New Bedford, Massachusetts, in the early 1980s following severe contamination of the nearby harbour. Using the hedonic approach, economists found that homes closest to the contamination experienced a $9,000 reduction in value, with the overall loss to New Bedford homeowners estimated at about $36 million.
This type of analysis provides only a minimum value of the loss experienced as a result of the pollution of the harbour. In this case the reduction in housing values is only one measure of loss. It could be combined with others, such as the cost of increased medical care over a residentâs lifetime, which may or may not be directly attributed to the pollution of the harbour; however, such measures are more difficult to obtain. Revealed-preferences methods can be valuable in determining an appropriate fine for the firms responsible for the pollution. More generally, the results also highlight the value that individuals place on clean water.
