ASSESSING THE QUALITY OF EXPRESSED PREFERENCE MEASURES OF VALUE

This paper proposes an approach for assessing the quality of expressed preference measures of value. A set of attributes relevant to public policy and social choice was used to distinguish between private and public goods. The relationship between the attribute variables and four different expressions of value (willingness to pay, cost, importance, and benefit) was used as a basis for examining value definitions. The results suggest that people generally define value in terms that are more complex than can be captured by a single, and particularly a single monetary, expression of value alone. Implications for public policy are discussed in terms of developing higher-quality value measures through a better understanding of their attribute components.