Contingent Valuation and Cultural Resources: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Literature

Contingent valuation methodology (CVM) has been increasingly applied to cultural resources. CVM employs survey methods to gather stated preference information, which can be used to estimate economic values of various cultural resources and projects. Although popular in other fields, the application of CVM in the cultural arena is relatively recent. This article summarizes this growing body of empirical literature and its range of findings. A meta-analysis gives a statistical view of the ``state of the art'' of the literature. This preliminary analysis sheds light on the consistency and validity of the use of this method in cultural applications.