Public decision-making and citizen preferences under a multilevel governance regime: Associating Contingent Valuation Method and Citizen Advisory Committees
Résumé
The Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) is a tool of economic analysis whose purpose is to
measure, by the declared preferences of individuals, the utility they attach to the production of
public goods and thus allow a public decision-maker to arbitrate between expenses. The
approach has been used in a centralist conceptual scheme, which leaves little room for citizens
in the decision-making process and is now being challenged by the rise in power, particularly
in Europe, of the multilevel governance. The decision-maker is no longer unique and the
taking of public decisions must take place on the basis of common positions adopted by
various levels of government which should be established, in a much closer relationship with
the citizens who use the goods public. The purpose of this article is to justify the use of
Citizen Advisory Committees (CAC) rather than other participatory tools sometimes
recommended in contingent studies such as citizen juries and the scenario workshop. It also
discusses the limitations of the CAC combination to the CVM wishing to ensure that citizens'
opinions are well used in the specification and implementation of public policies.