Testing for benefit transfer in valuation of ecosystem services in New Zealand winegrowing regions

Abstract

Benefit transfer (BT) is a pragmatic way of estimating values by transferring values from existing valuation studies to a target area of interest if there are limited resources or funding available to carry out an original valuation study. BT using choice modeling (CM) is a potentially cost-effective method for valuing differences in improvements in environmental quality as well as dealing with differences in socio-demographic factors. Surveys focused on two New Zealand winegrowing regions, Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay, are used as case studies. After taking into account a range of policy options, ecosystem services attributes, socioeconomic characteristics, and attitudinal variables for these sites and populations, this study uses CM to value the marginal benefits of improvement in selected ecosystem services associated with winegrowing. The study then tests the transferability of willingness-to-pay (i.e., implicit prices) or welfare measures of equivalence across both sites to check the validity of CM for BT.