Assessing Public Priorities for Experiment Station Research: Contingent Value and Public Preferences for Agricultural Research

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 publicʹs stated preferences for scientist-effort allocated across an Agricultural Experiment Stationʹs research portfolio. Over 75% of respondents expressed a willingness-to-pay exceeding $20 per household for allocations of at least 139 scientistmonths. 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 aboveor below-average benefits. The distribution of effort across research topics significantly affects respondentsʹ values.