Interpretation and Temporal Stability of CV Bids for Wildlife Existence: A Panel Study

Existence values are playing an increasingly important role in wildlife preservation decisions, but little is known about how these values behave over time, and value estimates may often be misinterpreted. Panel study results suggest that although existence values may be relatively stable, many individuals respond to contingent valuation by bidding their "fair share" or for the satisfaction from contributing to a good cause, such as environmental quality. Although payment of fair share may represent a lower bound estimate of existence value, payment for a "good cause" may or may not be closely related to the value of the resource itself.