Core and Context Attributes: A Test of Decision Heuristics in Discrete-Choice Experiments

Presenter: Juan Marcos González, RTI International

Abstract

Dr. González, is a Research Economist at RTI-HS. Dr. Gonzalez has developed valuation models that bring together revealed- and stated-preference methods to deal with shortcomings of each data type. His models have been used to assess the value of access to recreational sites in El Yunque National Forest (formerly Caribbean National Forest), Puerto Rico. They have been used for similar valuation efforts along the Snake River area in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Off-Highway Vehicles Parks in North Carolina.

As part of the Puerto Rico Biocomplexity Project, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Dr. Gonzalez helped develop recreational visitors’ behavioral rules. These rules were used in the creation of a regional SWORM model designed to look at interactions among humans, forest biota, and hydrologic components of two river basins in the northeastern part of Puerto Rico.