dc.description | The contingent valuation method was employed to assess the benefts of recovering the Laguna Grande de San Pedro de La Paz in Chile s Bío-Bío region and to analyze the possible existence of an embedding effect. Our results indicate that there is not a perfect part-whole valuation effect and that there is an imperfect substitution relationship between the two analyzed projects. In addition, when assessing the joint construction project of a main sewer and a recreation park on the north hillside of the lagoon, we determined that households were willing to pay an average monthly amount of $6,114 for the associated beneft of the environmental improvement. This amount would contribute $ 358,977,396 per month to the project and a total value of $4,307,728,752. Additionally, the separate valuation of the two projects resulted in an amount of $ 3,290,635,524 for the main sewer and $ 2,484,518,138 for the recreation park. The absence of part-whole valuation effect may be explained by the precautions adopted in the survey s design and application, based on the review and analysis of prior studies. | |