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Benefit transfer: Conceptual problems in estimating water quality benefits using existing studies
Author(s) -
Desvousges William H.,
Naughton Michael C.,
Parsons George R.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/91wr02592
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , risk analysis (engineering) , quality (philosophy) , water transfer , computer science , transfer (computing) , water quality , management science , environmental economics , environmental resource management , environmental science , engineering , business , water resource management , economics , ecology , philosophy , epistemology , biology , parallel computing
The Environmental Protection Agency has used existing studies to estimate the benefits of environmental improvements associated with several regulatory proposals. The problems encountered in using existing studies to measure the benefits of water quality improvements are investigated in this paper. We propose criteria for selecting transfer studies and present a case study of a transfer. Our research indicates that although benefit transfer may offer promise, the fact that existing studies were not designed for transfer places severe limitations on the current effectiveness of transfer. Suggestions for future research are presented to address these limitations.