The Effect of Risk Characteristics on the Willingness to Pay for Mortality Risk Reductions from Electric Power Generation

The objective of this study is to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for the reduction of mortality risks caused by fossil fuel (natural gas, coal and oil) versus nuclear electric power generation systems and to examine the influence of risk characteristics involved with electric power generation on WTP. A choice experiment was conducted to achieve these objectives. The attributes for nuclear risks in the experiment included the probability of disasters and the expected losses if a disaster occurs. We find evidence of (i) a baseline effect (where WTP is sensitive to hypothetical versus actual baseline expected mortality); (ii) a ‘labeling effect,’ where, surprisingly, the term ‘nuclear’ has no effect on WTP, but the term ‘fossil-fueled power generation’ results in lower WTP; and (iii) disaster aversion, meaning that people focus on the conditional loss from a nuclear disaster, not the probability. We also find that the WTP for reducing deaths from a nuclear disaster is about 60 times the WTP for routine reducing fossil-fuel generation-related deaths.     

选择实验理论及其在食品需求研究中的应用:文献综述

概述了选择实验理论及其应用,在此基础上对利用选择实验方法研究食品需求的国内外文献进行综述。得出结论:美国的此类研究主要聚焦于消费者对食品质量和安全属性的偏好和支付意愿方面;欧洲的此类研究除了关注消费者的食品质量和安全需求外,还关注转基因、动物福利等问题。提出后续基于此类方法的研究应进一步关注食品特定属性的变化对消费者或社会福利的影响以及由此导致的市场效应的评价,而消费者需求行为与食品生产者行为、政府角色的结合可作为未来研究的切入点,同时应将选择实验方法更多地应用于中国食品需求研究。     

Estimation of the public benefits of urban water supply improvements in Ethiopia: a choice experiment

Improving existing drinking water supply services in developing countries depends crucially on available financial resources. Cost recovery rates of these services are typically low, while demand for more reliable services is high and rapidly growing. Most stated preference-based demand studies in the developing world apply the contingent valuation method and focus on rural areas. This study examines household Willingness to Pay (WTP) for improved water supply services in a choice experiment in an urban area in Ethiopia, a country with the lowest water supply coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa. The design of the choice experiment allows estimation of the value of both drinking water supply reliability and safety. The estimated economic values can be used in policy appraisals of improved supply investment decisions. Despite significant income constraints, households are willing to pay up to 80% extra for improved levels of water supply over and above their current water bill. Women and households living in the poorest part of the city with the lowest service levels value the improvement of water quality most. As expected, also averting behaviour and expenditures play an important role.     

Does sport make you happy? An analysis of the well‐being derived from sports participation

This paper examines the impact of sports participation upon the subjective well‐being of individuals. Encouraging participation in sports activity is now an important public policy issue, as it is argued that there are benefits in terms of health and well‐being to individuals as well as to society through externalities. Controlling for personal and socio‐demographic characteristics affecting well‐being, this paper examines if participation in, and the frequency and duration of, 67 sports activities affects well‐being. The form in which sports participation takes place is also investigated by examining if social‐interaction sports produce more well‐being. This paper demonstrates that sports participation has a positive affect upon the subjective well‐being of the population and, moreover, estimates its monetary value. The effects are larger if one allows for social interactions.     

Modelling preference heterogeneity for theatre tickets: a discrete choice modelling approach on Royal Danish Theatre booking data

This article analyses the behavioural choice for theatre tickets using a rich data set for 2010–2013 from the sale system of the Royal Danish National Theatre. A consumer who decides to attend a theatre production faces multiple sources of price variation that involves a choice by the consumer among different ticket alternatives. Three modelling approaches are proposed in order to model ticket purchases: conditional logit with socio-demographic characteristics, nested logit and latent class. These models allow us explicitly to take into account consumers’ preference heterogeneity with respect to the attributes associated with each ticket alternative (quality of the seat and day of the performance). In addition, the willingness to pay of choice attributes is estimated. Final results suggest that customers’ characteristics in terms of age and frequency of theatre attendance characterize different patterns of behaviour in the choice of theatre ticket.     

游客对旅游地教育服务的支付意愿研究

为有计划性、引导性的倡导使用者付费的理念,建立公开透明、科学合理的定价机制,运用条件价值评估法(CVM)对全国12个省12个旅游景区的中国游客进行了实地抽样调查,分析游客对教育服务项目的支付意愿。基于2 800份有效问卷数据,获得了受访者支付意愿的分布形态和规律,构建了游客支付意愿与其影响因素之间关系的模型。结果显示:49.40%的游客愿意支付教育服务费用,平均支付额度为28.6元;游客的年龄、婚姻状态、学历、职业、收入与其教育服务支付意愿之间存在显著性关系,旅游地游客教育水平也直接影响游客的支付意愿,而性别与其支付意愿没有显著的差异。同时,游客的年龄、学历、职业、收入对支付方式的影响较大,64.1%的游客想通过门票支付,27.5%的游客想通过小费支付。     

Modelling the Non-market Environmental Costs and Benefits of Biodiversity Projects Using Contingent Valuation Data

CV studies rarely ask willingness to accept (WTA)questions, yet there are a range of environmentalprojects where there are likely to be potential losersas well as gainers. This paper presents evidence fromsix biodiversity projects that the inclusion ofcontingent compensation payments from thoserespondents who preferred the status quo cansubstantially reduce net project benefits, even whenthe proportion of losers is relatively small. Astatistical model for estimating the mean welfaremeasure from dichotomous choice data which allows forboth positive WTP, zero WTP, and WTA is described. Asmany environmental projects are likely to create bothgainers and losers, we recommend that CV analysts giveserious consideration to the collection and analysisof WTA data otherwise they risk generating biasedestimates of project benefits.     

Elicitation Format and Sensitivity to Scope

This paper undertakes a systematiccomparison of the contingent valuation (CV) andchoice experiments (CE) methods, andinvestigates the extent to which either of themare affected by insensitivity to scope. This isachieved by undertaking separate CV estimatesof willingness to pay for two nested publicgoods, both of which are explicitly included ina parallel CE survey. The results indicate thatCE values exhibit greater sensitivity to scopethan CV values. CE gives significantly largerresults than CV for the more inclusive publicgood and significantly smaller results for theless inclusive public good.     

The market value of preventive activities: A contingent-claims approach

We use a contingent-claims approach to determine the market value of preventive investments. We show that the lower the initial probability of accident, the greater is the market value of a reduction in this probability. Besides, at initially low probabilities, ceteris paribus, the market gives a higher value to a reduction in accident probability when aggregate (correlated) catastrophic risks rather than independent ones are involved. The reverse occurs at initially high probabilities.     

Productivity and technical change: the case of Taiwan

This paper analyses productivity growth in 16 of Taiwan's manufacturing industries during the period 1978–1992. The non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis approach is used to compute Malmquist productivity indexes. These are decomposed into efficiency change and technical change. The latter is further decomposed into an output bias, an input bias and a magnitude component. In addition, the direction of input bias is identified. Empirical results indicate that the sector's TFP increased at a rate of 2.89% per annum, which could be ascribed to a technical progress (2.56%) and an efficiency improvement (0.33%).     

城镇消费者对有机农产品的购买意愿分析——以有机大米消费为研究对象

基于对北京市、武汉市城镇消费者对有机大米的消费行为调查,分析了有机农产品溢价购买意愿和边际购买意愿。运用联合分析法研究发现,当前消费者对有机农产品的溢价购买意愿倾向比较低,但边际购买意愿较高,价格过高限制了有机农产品的推广。另外,消费者对有机农产品的认知水平、品牌因素对消费者购买意愿有着重要的影响作用。     

农户畜禽防疫服务支付意愿及其影响因素分析

基于对江苏、江西、内蒙、云南四省(区)447户的农户畜禽防疫服务调查,运用支付意愿方法,得到上述地区农户的畜禽防疫服务支付意愿,并通过Logistic回归模型对农户畜禽防疫服务支付意愿的影响因素进行了分析。研究结果表明,影响农户畜禽防疫服务支付意愿的因素除了农户家庭和生产等一些常见的特征变量外,还有农户所在社区畜禽防疫服务可及性等多方面的因素。基于这些实证研究结果,本文提出政府应增加投入,以及完善农村公共服务基础设施建设等相关政策建议。     

Willingness to pay for environmental goods in Norway: A contingent valuation study with real payment

The study seeks to determine the maximum willingness to pay (MWTP) among a random sample of Norwegians, for membership in the largest environmentalist association in Norway, Norges Naturvernforbund (NNV). The study includes three stages: (1) a contingent valuation study, testing hypothetical MWTP; (2) those whose stated MWTP is at or above the current membership fee are then asked to pay this fee; (3) those individuals who do not pay in stage 2 are interviewed, and asked to consider revising their MWTP statement. The study is seemingly the first of its kind in comparing hypothetical and actual MWTP by typing valuation of a public good (the environment) to the value of a private good (membership of the NNV). The results show a rather poor correspondence between hypothetical and actual MWTP, since only 6 out of 64 who stated that they were willing to pay the membership fee in stage 1, actually paid this voluntarily in stage 2. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed, on the basis of data from the telephone interview in stage 3, and on information gathered in stage 1. The data indicate that a substantial part of this discrepancy is due to MWTP being overstated in stage 1, but that other reasons also are important.