Evaluation of the accuracy of benefit transfers in contingent valuation method (case study: SardabRud River)

Benefits transfer method (BTM) uses economic data collected in a specific temporal and spatial situation to draw results about the value of goods and environmental services in another situation. One important consideration in the use of BTM is the validity and reliability of the method in estimating the error. Accordingly, the present study compared the entertainment value of the Sardab Rud River in Chalus, Iran estimated by BTM and main valuation by the contingent method to find out the error of BTM. The error is usually measured by convergent validity test. According to this test, the error is measurable when the main valuation research is carried out in a new location and is compared with the values derived from benefit transfer. In this study, It was found that the consumers’ mean willingness to pay for each recreational visit in the Sardab Rud River was estimated at 57679 IRR by BTM and 59,041 IRR by CVM (the main research in a new context) per family in 2014. Thus, BTM exhibited an error of 2.34%. Given the scientific validity of the previous study, this error is mainly caused by the error in the transfer of benefits and the measurement error has a negligible role. This low error implies the high reliability of the method