ABSTRACT
The contingent valuation method (CVM) seems to divide the economics profession. While there might be higher agreement among a core of (neoclassical) environmental economists on the theoretical foundations of valuing public goods with that specific method, applying the CVM is an important point of scientific discourse. Ecological economists not only doubt empirical applications of the CVM in many respects, but also question its welfare theoretic foundations and more generally those of cost-benefit analysis (CBA). A crucial point in that debate is the understanding of markets as social institutions, and the behaviour of individuals as embedded in a specific social and institutional context.
