Assessing Public Priorities for Experiment Station Research: Contingent Value and Public Preferences for Agricultural Research
通过调查公众对农业试验站研究资源配置的支付意愿，发现超过75%的受访者愿意为增加科研投入支付超过20美元，并识别出不同研究主题的边际效益差异。
Laws concerning government accountability mandate that agencies weigh constituent interests in setting priorities. This study extends literature on the value of research by considering the public's stated preferences for scientist‐effort allocated across an Agricultural Experiment Station's research portfolio. Over 75% of respondents expressed a willingness‐to‐pay exceeding $20 per household for allocations of at least 139 scientist‐months. The mean household is willing to pay about $25 for a 25% increase in effort. Marginal analysis identifies topic areas where an additional scientist‐month provides above‐ or below‐average benefits. The distribution of effort across research topics significantly affects respondents' values.