surveys the panel recommended a set of reference surveys which future surveys could be compared to and calibrated against. The NOAA panel also felt, in general, that conservative estimates of value were to be preferred and one important consequence of this decision is that they recommended contingent valuation surveys measure willingness to pay to protect the good rather than willingness to accept compensation for the loss of the resource. As a result, current contingent valuation methodology corrects for these shortcomings, and current empirical testing indicates that such bias and inconsistency has been successfully addressed. Current status As shown by Mundy and McLean (1998), contingent valuation is now widely accepted as a real estate appraisal technique, particularly in contaminated property or other situations where revealed preference models (i.e. transaction pricing) fail due to disequilibrium in the market. McLean, Mundy, and Kilpatrick (1999) demonstrate the acceptability of contingent valuation in real estate expert testimony, and the current standards for use of contingent valuation in litigation situations is described by Diamond (2000). The technique has been widely used by government departments in the US when performing cost-benefit analysis of projects impacting, positively or negatively, on the environment. Examples include a valuation of water quality and recreational opportunities in the river downstream from Glen Canyon dam, biodiversity restoration in the Mono Lake and restoration of salmon spawning grounds in certain rivers. The technique has also been used in Australia to value areas of the Kakadu National Park as well as trophy property in the United States, and is recognized as a valuable tool in the appraisal of brownfields. See also Choice modelling Opportunity cost Scarcity Trade-off References W. Michael Hanemann, 'Valuing the Environment Through Contingent Valuation' The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 8, No. 4. (Autumn, 1994), pp. 19–43 Paul R. Portney, 'The Contingent Valuation Debate: Why Economists Should Care' The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 8, No. 4. (Autumn, 1994), pp. 3–17 External links NOAA report Ecosystem Valuation information Environmental Valuation and Cost-Benefit News Misleading Quantification: The Contingent Valuation of Environmental Quality (Robert K. Niewijk) Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE). - JEEM: Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (AERE's official "technical" journal). - REEP: Review of Environmental Economics and Policy (AERE's official "accessible" journal). Economics of Natural Resource Decisions: Gardner Brown (University of Washington Office of Research) Curated bibliography at IDEAS/RePEc Environmental economics Survey methodology Public policy research