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.     

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.     

Complementarity between water pricing, water rights and local water governance: A Bayesian analysis of choice behaviour of farmers in the Krishna river basin, India

To ensure efficient water allocation and use, policy designers have adopted various strategies, including price setting, decentralising irrigation water management or improving water rights. Most of these strategies have been applied individually, without considering the complementary relationships between them. This paper uses a discrete choice model to analyse the scope for combinations of tools for irrigation water demand management and farmers' acceptance of these. In terms of local irrigation water governance, the presence or absence of collective irrigation water management, in the form of a Water Users Association, is considered. Water rights are specified in terms of the duration and quality of the entitlement and its transferability. Finally, four types of water pricing methods (area, crop, block and volumetric pricing) are considered. Using a choice experiment, we elicit the most preferred water pricing method, under different water rights situations, at different price levels and under various contexts for local irrigation water governance. Our results indicated that under conditions of improved water rights, preference for volumetric pricing increases, whilst the presence of a Water Users Association reduces this preference. Furthermore, it was found that using an appropriate combination of water demand management tools considerably increases the willingness to pay for a change in scenario.     

The effect of distance on willingness to pay values: a case study of wetlands and salmon in California

Most contingent valuation studies in the literature utilized a pre-determined geographic market area for their sample frame. In other words, they did not include variables that would measure the extent of the geographic areas over which to aggregate willingness to pay. These studies implicitly assumed that the effects of geographic distance were moot; an assumption that could have led to an understatement of the aggregate benefit values computed in these studies. The overall goal of this study was to determine if distance affects willingness to pay for public goods with large non-use values. The data used came from a contingent valuation study regarding the San Joaquin Valley, CA. Respondents were asked about their willingness to pay (WTP) for three proposed programs designed to reduce various environmental problems in the Valley. A logit model was used to examine the effects of geographic distance on respondents' willingness to pay for each of the three programs. Results indicate that distance affected WTP for two of the three programs (wetlands habitat and wildlife, and the wildlife contamination control programs). We calculate the underestimate in benefits if the geographic extent of the public good market is arbitrarily limited to one political jurisdiction.     

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%).     

Labor supply: Toward the construction of an alternative conception from post Keynesian and institutional economics

Post Keynesian and institutional economics have traditionally maintained a critical stance toward the orthodox model of labor supply, questioning many of its underlying assumptions. Nevertheless, this critical view has not led to the formulation of an alternative conception of labor supply that is sufficiently coherent and structured to be generally accepted within these branches of the literature. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to contribute to the construction of such an alternative. To do so, the article starts by analyzing the relationship between the reasons that lead to individuals offering their labor and what that activity can bring to human beings in return. Secondly, the authors present an alternative concept of what workers contribute at work. They then analyze how the decision-making process regarding the labor supply actually takes place. Finally, the article concludes by briefly presenting certain additional points, in particular how differentiation is an inherent feature of the labor supply.     

水利项目成本核算制度在水务事业单位中的应用研究

水务事业单位的水利项目在成本核算方面出现了很多问题。由于核算制度的不健全,管理者在进行经营决策时,缺乏基础性数据的支持,致使对供水生产成本、期间费用和水价核算方法不明确。基于此,提出水务事业单位应该建立水利项目成本核算制度,并以刘川工程管理局为例,将供水定价成本核算方法应用于水务事业单位的水利项目成本核算。     

Using a choice experiment to estimate the benefits of a reduction of externalities in urban areas with special focus on electrosmog

Traffic noise, air pollution and electromagnetic pollution (i.e. nonionizing radiation, also called electrosmog) are typical negative local externalities in urban areas. They are side effects of human and economic activities (e.g. road transport, telecommunication) and they affect individuals’ well being negatively without compensation. In recent years, the increased number of mobile phone antennas in residential areas, and thus the increased intensity of radiated power, has aroused public concern, discussions and protests. The view of an antenna is annoying an increasing number of inhabitants. In this article, the stated Choice Experiment (CE) is used to estimate the Willingness To Pay (WTP) residents in the cities of Zurich and Lugano place on the reduction of these three environmental loads. Estimation results reveal that there is a positive and significant WTP for a reduction of air pollution and traffic noise levels to those limit values fixed by the government. Respondents also show WTP for reducing electrosmog and removing mobile phone antennas from their view, however to a lesser extent. In addition, this is the first study that estimates the benefit of a reduction of electrosmog using a CE.     

苏北农村公共物品供给制度创新路径选择与对策--基于城乡发展一体化视角

现阶段,苏北农村公共物品短缺已成为制约苏北城乡发展一体化的重要障碍,进行苏北农村公共物品供给制度创新以增加农村公共物品供给是苏北实现城乡发展一体化的客观要求和必然选择。根据目前苏北农村公共物品供给的现状和需求特征,应构建以政府供给为主体,政府导向和市场导向相结合,供给主体多元、筹资形式多元和利益表达多元的“一体多元”、“双导向”复合制度模式,完善苏北农村公共物品供给制度,提高供给效率,增加苏北农村公共物品供给。     

南京市公众对长江水质改善的支付意愿及支付方式的调查

本文以南京市为例．利用支付卡式的条件价值评估（OVM）技术．通过发放调查问卷及访谈的形式对公众改善长江水质的支付意愿进行了深入研究。结果表明：（1）南京市居民对长江水质恢复的户均年支付意愿为100．66元．76．5％的受访者的支付意愿大于零，8．4％的受访问者虽有支付意愿但限于低经济收入原因支付意愿为零．15.1％的受访者拒绝支付；（2）影响居民支付意愿的主要因素包括家庭收入、环境意识及文化程度；（3）南京市居民偏爱的支付方式依次为捐款、交税、存取基金方式及提高水价．水价上涨并不是面向公众筹集长江水质改善资金的唯一有效方式。根据调查结果，本文认为增加收入，提高水环境保护意识．引入“谁收益、谁支付”观点是提高居民支付意愿的有效途径。     

Economies of density, scale and scope in the water supply and sewerage sector: a study of four developing and transition economies

Using panel data, we estimate measures of density, scale and scope economies in four countries that differ substantially in their levels of economic development and in their piped water and sewerage coverage: Brazil, Moldova, Romania and Vietnam. We find evidence of economies of scale in Moldova, Romania and Vietnam. In Brazil, we cannot reject the null hypothesis of constant returns to scale. The results of this study show that the cost structure of water and sewerage utilities varies significantly within and between countries and over time.      

The conservation against development paradigm in protected areas: Valuation of ecosystem services in the Doñana social-ecological system (southwestern Spain)

The ecosystems of the Doñana social-ecological system (southwestern Spain) provide numerous ecosystem services to society. We valued the most important ecosystem services through a market-based approach, revealed-preference and stated-preference methods to assess the conservation effectiveness of the Doñana Protected Area, with consideration of existing human activities in surrounding lands. We also analysed the spatial distribution of the ecosystem services beneficiaries and the scale of their related markets. We found a clear trade-off between the local and global market values of ecosystem services because landscape management outside of the Doñana Protected Area promotes the provision of ecosystem services associated with international markets. Our results suggest that a conservation against development model occurs in the Doñana social-ecological system, in which land use intensification takes place outside of the Protected Area borders as a result of promoting marketed ecosystem services, while biodiversity conservation is the main activity inside the Protected Area. We conclude that protected areas should be part of a larger-scale, adaptive landscape management strategy in which conservation planning should be the focal element in coordinating sectoral policies in the context of social-ecological systems.     

Firm credit in the euro area: a tale of three crises

Using survey data from 2009 to 2011, we analyse the effects of the recent euro area economic, financial and private debt crisis on the supply of and demand for bank finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). At the country level, we identify three distinct aspects of the recent crisis in the euro area affecting firm credit through different channels. Controlling for country fixed effects, the impact of a weak real economy on firm credit operates both by reducing firms’ demand for bank financing and by lenders increasing loan rejections and tightening terms and conditions on credit allocated. On the other hand, financial conditions have no significant effect on demand, but they do affect credit supply as we find that financial tensions worsen the chances of obtaining credit and its terms and conditions. We interpret this as evidence of a bank balance sheet channel negatively impacting credit provision. We find that private sector indebtedness has important effects on SMEs’ credit access and its terms and conditions.     

Towards a better estimation of agricultural supply elasticity: the case of soya beans in Brazil

Brazil is a major exporter of several agricultural commodities and has shown strong interest in agricultural trade negotiations. For several commodities, trade liberalization is expected to be followed by farmgate prices increase and to boost domestic production. However, in a country as big as Brazil, possible supply responses to price increase will probably strongly differ from one region to another. This article focuses on soya beans for which Brazil became a top exporter. The panel data technique is used to estimate the soy bean supply response at national and regional level. Soya bean supply is shown to be very price elastic. Moreover, soya bean supply own price elasticity is much higher in the Center-North regions than in the South of the country. Substitution between livestock and soya bean is also very significant in the Center-North region. World agricultural trade models should take account for such regional variability of soya bean supply elasticity. The results also allow us to discuss the issue of soya bean expansion at the Amazon border.     

The internalization of externalities in the production of electricity: Willingness to pay for the attributes of a policy for renewable energy

This paper investigates the willingness to pay of a sample of residents of Bath, England, for a hypothetical program that promotes the production of renewable energy. Using choice experiments, we assess the preferences of respondents for a policy for the promotion of renewable energy that: (i) contributes to the internalization of the external costs caused by fossil fuel technologies; (ii) affects the short-term security of energy supply; (iii) has an impact on the employment in the energy sector; and (iv) leads to an increase in the electricity bill. Responses to the choice questions show that our respondents are in favour of a policy for renewable energy and that they attach a high value to a policy that brings private and public benefits in terms of climate change and energy security benefits. Our results therefore suggest that consumers are willing to pay a higher price for electricity in order to internalize the external costs in terms of energy security, climate change and air pollution caused by the production of electricity.