Contingent valuation of the public benefits of agricultural wildlife management: The case of Dutch peat meadow land

The public benefits of agricultural wildlife management are estimated by means of the contingent valuation method. Households are asked for their willingness to pay for wildlife preservation measures taken by farmers. Corresponding with the survey's three-stage budgeting structure, a non-linear recursive model is used to test the study's construct validity. Since the method is not undisputed and rapidly evolving, the outcomes of the study are accompanied by an extensive discussion of the way the method is applied. A rough cost-benefit analysis indicates that current policy towards management agreements is justified based on the neo-Paretian welfare criterion.