Discussion Papers no. 241
How much does it matter?
The Assumption of equal marginal utility of income
In most applied cost-benefit analyses, individual willingness to pay is aggregated without using explicit welfare weights. This can be justified by postulating a utilitarian social welfare function, along with the assumption of equal marginal utility of income for all individuals. However, since marginal utility is a cardinal concept, there is no generally accepted way to verify the plausibility of this latter assumption, nor its empirical importance. In this paper we use data from seven contingent valuation studies to illustrate that if one instead assumes equal marginal utility of the public good for all individuals, aggregate monetary benefit estimates change dramatically.
Om publikasjonen
- Tittel
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The Assumption of equal marginal utility of income. How much does it matter?
- Ansvarlige
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Hege Medin, Ian Bateman, Karine Nyborg
- Serie og -nummer
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Discussion Papers no. 241
- Utgiver
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Statistics Norway, Research Department
- Emne
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Discussion Papers
- Antall sider
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31
- Målform
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Engelsk
- Om Discussion Papers
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Discussion papers comprise research papers intended for international journals and books. A preprint of a Discussion Paper may be longer and more elaborate than a standard journal article as it may include intermediate calculations, background material etc.
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