Quaero is the Latin word for "I ask", which seems like an appropriate name for a server which has the role of hosting online surveys. In economics it is easier to put a value on goods that are bought and sold, which we call "market goods", than it is to put a value on other goods which are not purchased with currency, that economists call "non-market goods". A non-market good could be something like clean air to breathe, a nice public park in which to have a pickinick, or an uncongested freeway. Even though these things are not generally bought and sold, as economists, we still like to know what, if any, value people place on them.

To this end we conduct surveys, asking people to state their preferences which we are unable to observe directly. The surveys hosted on this server are administered by Dr. Robert Berrens, Dr. Jennifer Thacher, Michael Hand, Jeff Bjarke, and others among the faculty and graduate students of the Department of Economics at the University of New Mexico. If you are here to respond to a survey or access data from a previous survey, please follow the appropriate link above.