ESTIMATING THE WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR WATER SERVICES IN DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES - A CASE-STUDY OF THE USE OF CONTINGENT VALUATION SURVEYS IN SOUTHERN HAITI

Two basic theoretical approaches are available for making reliable estimates of households' willingness to pay: this paper investigates the approach termed the "contingent valuation method' because the interviewer poses questions within the context of a hypothetical market. The preliminary results strongly suggest that contingent valuation surveys are a feasible method for estimating individuals' willingness to pay for improved water services in rural Haiti. This has important policy implications for rural water supply projects because it seems to show that going into a village and conducting a relatively simple household survey can yield reliable information. Contingent valuation surveys may also prove to be a viable method of collecting information on individuals' willingness to pay for a wide range of public infrastructure projects and public services in developing countries. -from Authors