A Discrete Choice Contingent Valuation Estimate of the Value of Kenai King Salmon

A new method for estimating the demand curve for publicly supplied goods when quantities are restricted to a few discrete levels is introduced. The method involves fitting a conditional logit model to choices from a set of survey options in which price and quantity are both varied and consumer attitudes are explicitly controlled. The estimated parameters of the valuation function serve to trace the marginal value of the good at each level of hypothetical consumption in survey data. We apply the method to the valuation of salmon on Alaska’s Kenai River. We find that there is a distinct kink in the marginal valuation function and that sport fishermen may place a negative marginal value on fish permits exceeding their desired catch levels.