Estimating the willingness to pay for drug abuse treatment: a pilot study.
Previous economic studies of the benefits of drug treatment have limited their estimation to tangible benefits, and thus have underestimated the benefits of drug treatment. The willingness-to-pay (WTP) approach is a more encompassing benefit valuation method that captures both tangible and intangible benefits and accords with valuation concepts used by economists. In this study, we report the results of a pilot study in which we used the contingent valuation (CV) method to value drug treatment. We conducted mall intercept surveys in two communities: the Triad area in North Carolina and Brooklyn, New York. We estimated WTP models for two different drug treatment programs: a program for all drug users and a program specifically targeted to women drug users. We modeled respondents' WTP for drug treatment as a function of their demographics and to responses from attitudinal/experience questions. The mean WTP for both types of drug treatment programs was estimated to be approximately $37 per respondent. Finally, we demonstrated how the results of the CV method may be used in a benefit-cost analysis of drug treatment.
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Center for Economics Research, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA. gaz@rti.org
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D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009519:New York City; D009657:North Carolina; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011639:Public Opinion; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires