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A study was undertaken to estimate the benefits and costs of riparian restoration projects along the Little Tennessee River in western North Carolina. Restoration benefits were described in terms of five indicators of ecosystem services: abundance of game fish, water clarity, wildlife habitat, allowable water uses, and ecosystem naturalness. A sequence of dichotomous choice contingent valuation questions were presented to local residents to assess household willingness to pay increased county sales taxes for differing amounts of riparian restoration. Results showed that the benefits of ecosystem restoration were a non-linear function of restoration scale and the benefits of full restoration were super-additive. We estimated the costs of riparian restoration activities by collecting and analyzing data from 35 projects in the study area. After adjusting our estimated valuation function for socio-economic characteristics of the local population, the benefit/cost ratio for riparian restoration ranged from 4.03 (for 2 miles of restoration) to 15.65 (for 6 miles of restoration). Riparian restoration in this watershed is therefore an economically feasible investment of public funds at all measured spatial scales. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Information "bias" in contingent markets is poorly understood. In this paper, testable hypotheses concerning beneficial contingent market information effects are developed conceptually. Perspective information and relative expenditure information were expected to increase comprehension and increase bids. Provision cost information was expected to counteract free-riding behavior and also increase bids. Hypothesis tests using experimental markets suggested that each information type induced small, statistically insignificant bid increases. However, the combined effect of the three information types induced a desirable, statistically significant increase in bids. This result supports the contention that not all contingent market information effects are "biases." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]