Can PC format CV reveal the true value of environmental resources in developing countries? A laboratory experiment in China

This is a report on payment card format contingent valuation prediction validity in China based on the individual level comparison in a world heritage site evaluation. An evaluation index system of indicators is set up according to the consistency of the individual willingness to pay as well as the mean (or median), the positive (or negative) proportion in the hypothetical context and those in the actual donation context. We took the conservation of a combined world heritage site Wuyi Mountain in China as the case study. By one-to-one individual level comparison, we demonstrate that people usually overstate their paying intention and overestimate their paying abilities, and the hypothetical individual WTP, mean, median, positive proportion and negative proportion are all significantly different from those in the actual context in this case. However, although the relationship between WTP and socioeconomic characteristics in the hypothetical context was not consistent with that in the actual situation, the survey still demonstrated the maximum support proportion and the least opponent proportion to the project when it was carried out. So we can conclude that in this case PC format CV is a poor indicator, partly owning to its free binding. We also find that when a person decides whether to pay (intention), he or she is more affected by his/her knowledge structure and social duty; when he/she really decides on how much he/she will pay, income becomes the most important factor.