Measuring Social Preferences for Rural Development in Southern Europe

It is a well-known result in both environmental economics and natural resources management that you will not be able to manage what you are not able to measure. This paper presents a dichotomous-choice contingent valuation survey that analyses individuals' preferences for the implementation of a rural development program (RDP) that fosters the provision of non-commodity outputs in rural areas in Southern Europe. In order to account for the fact that some of the respondents show unwillingness to pay for the program, out-of-the-market individuals have been identified. According to the results of our behavioral models, prospective positive welfare changes due to policy implementation constitute a sound argument in favor of regional RDPs. Finally, higher levels of social legitimacy and social support towards RDPs will be inextricably related to the issue of being able to communicate to the wider public what the potential outcomes and expected potential benefits of RDPs will be.