Abstract :
Contingent valuation (CV) has been argued to have theoretical
advantages over other approaches for benefit valuation used by health
economists. Yet, in reality, the technique appears not to have realised these
advantages when applied to health-care issues, such that its influence in
decision-making at national levels has been non-existent within the health
sector. This is not a result of a lack of methodological work in the area, which
has continued to flourish. Rather, it is a result of such activities being
undertaken in a rather uncoordinated and unsystematic fashion, leading CV to
be akin to a ‘ship without a sail’. This paper utilises a systematic review of the
CV literature in health to illustrate some important points concerning the
conduct of CV studies, before providing a comment on what the remaining
policy and research priorities are for the technique, and proposing a guideline
for such studies. It is hoped that this will initiate some wider and rigorous
debate on the future of the CV technique in order to make it seaworthy, give
it direction and provide the right momentum.
