Economic Valuation of Health for Environmental Policy: Comparing Alternative Approaches. Introduction and Overview

Protecting human health is a primary goal of environmental policy and economic evaluation of health can help policy-makers judge the relative worth of alternative actions. Economists use two distinct approaches in normatively evaluating health. Whereas environmental economists use benefit-cost analysis supported by monetary valuation in terms of willingness-to-pay, health economists evaluate interventions based on cost-effectiveness or cost-utility analysis (CEA), using quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) or similar indexes. This paper provides background on the controversy about the relative merits of these approaches and introduces the remaining papers in the special issue. These papers (with one exception) were presented at a conference sponsored by the Department of Economics at the University of Central Florida with support from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Although CEA might not lead to substantially different implications for environmental policy than benefit-cost analysis, and QALY may provide a benefit transfer tool to fill gaps in the morbidity valuation literature, the papers in this issue raise serious concerns about the suitability of QALY-based CEA for environmental regulatory analysis. QALY does not in general appropriately represent individual preferences for health and CEA is neither independent of income distribution nor adequate to assess efficiency.     

Willingness to Pay to Reduce Mortality Risks: Evidence from a Three-Country Contingent Valuation Study

Valuing a change in the risk of death is a key input into the calculation of the benefits of environmental policies that save lives. Typically such risks are monetized using the Value of a Statistical Life (VSL). Since the majority of the lives saved by environmental policies are those of older persons, there has been much recent debate about whether the VSL should be lower for the elderly to reflect their fewer remaining life years. We conducted a contingent valuation survey in the UK, Italy and France designed to answer this question. The survey was administered in these three countries following a standardized protocol. Our results suggest that the VSL is €1.022 million or €2.264 million, depending on whether we use median or mean WTP. The VSL is not significantly lower for older persons, but is higher for persons who have been admitted to a hospital or emergency room for cardiovascular and respiratory problems. Income is positively and significantly associated with WTP. The income elasticities of the WTP increase gradually with income levels and are between 0.15 and 0.5 for current income levels in EU countries. We use the responses to the WTP questions to estimate the value of an extension in remaining life expectancy. The value of a loss of one year’s life expectancy is €54,000 or €163,000.     

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.     

社会养老保险新政的运行效果分析——基于沈阳市国有大型企业的调查

利用调查数据重点考察了社会养老保险新政的实际运行效果,指出了目前存在职工参保意愿不强烈、政策有效性尚不明显、对制度长期建设缺乏信心等现实问题,以期对养老保险制度的改革完善提供理论和政策依据。     

职场友谊对研发团队创新绩效的影响机制研究——一个带中介的调节模型

本文通过问卷调查法获得372份有效问卷,运用带中介的调节模型探讨了职场友谊对研发团队创新绩效的影响机制。实证结果表明：（1）职场友谊对团队创新绩效是有正向的激励作用的,其中知识分享起中介作用;（2）职场友谊对团队创新绩效的作用同时受到员工知识分享意愿和知识分享能力的中介作用;（3）职位级别对职场友谊通过知识分享对团队创新绩效的影响起负向调节作用,即职位级别越高,友谊机会越小,通过员工友谊促进知识分享,进而提高团队创新绩效的效应越低。     

The effect of information on consumers' willingness to pay for natural and organic chicken

This study examined the effect of definitions for organic and natural on willingness to pay a premium for organic over natural chicken. Data were collected using surveys and experimental auctions that were conducted before and after information was presented. Before information, approximately two‐thirds of participants inaccurately equated the requirements of natural with those for organic. After information, nearly 50% increased their premium, while 30% decreased their premium. Logistic regression results showed that consumers who had overestimated the requirements for natural were most likely to have an increased premium after information, with significantly higher bids for organic. For those who decreased their premium after information, awareness of consuming genetically modified (GM) foods was a key variable. The non‐genetically modified (non‐GM) requirement of organic appears to be of low value to some consumers. Overall, consumer confusion regarding organic and natural standards may be having substantial impacts on the two markets.     

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.     

较发达地区农户参与农信社小额信贷程度的影响因素分析——基于苏北金湖农户“直接意愿”调查的实证检验

结合农户借贷行为特征,采用江苏省金湖县273个农户实地调查数据,通过基于"直接意愿调查法"的二元Probit模型,从需求和供给两方面实证分析中国较发达地区农户小额信用贷款的现状及影响因素,结果显示,外出务工人数、农村家庭大额非日常支出、农户人际关系的强弱和正规社会资本资源显著影响农户小额信贷的需求,而非农收入比重、农户兼业类型及地区人均贷款显著影响农户获得小额信贷的概率。因此,重视和挖掘农户潜在信贷需求,改进信贷产品服务和质量,满足农户多样化的资金需求,才是实现农村小额信贷的可持续发展之道。     

山核桃生态化经营投入产出状况及农户选择意愿

本研究以较早开展山核桃生态化经营试验的临安市为研究点,基于农户地块水平山核桃投入产出数据,对生态经营山核桃地块投入产出状况、经营者生态化经营接受意愿及其影响因素进行了分析。结果表明:短期内,山核桃生态化经营对经济收益会产生一定的负面影响;试验区内经营者对山核桃生态化经营的接受意愿程度较高,经营者对生态化经营可能带来的长期的综合效益有了较为清楚的认知,山核桃生态化试验与示范已经取得一定的成效;家庭收入水平、户主特征、教育与培训等是影响经营者生态化经营意愿选择的主要因素。最后,对如何进一步提高山核桃生态化经营推广效率进行了探讨。     

农户林权抵押贷款意愿及其影响因素分析——基于林业生产性融资需求的视角

利用四川省5个省级集体林权制度改革试点县(区)32个村508个农户调查数据,运用Logit模型对农户林权抵押贷款意愿及其影响因素进行实证分析。研究表明,在现行林权抵押贷款制度安排下,农户的性别、受教育年限、是否担任过村干部、非农就业人数比重、是否获得过信用贷款、投资风险承受能力、林木林产品销售比例、是否与企业签订购销合同和政府的支持等因素对农户林权抵押贷款意愿有显著影响。