Public support for reducing US reliance on fossil fuels: Investigating household willingness-to-pay for energy research and development |
| |
Authors: | Hui Li Hank C Jenkins-Smith Robert P Berrens |
| |
Institution: | a Department of Economics, Eastern Illinois University, United States b Center for Applied Social Research and Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, United States c Department of Economics, University of New Mexico, United States |
| |
Abstract: | In order to reduce future dependence on foreign oil and emissions of CO2, how much would US households be willing to pay annually to support increased energy research and development (R&D) activities designed to replace fossil fuels? Does it matter whether the R&D includes nuclear energy options? We explore these questions using data from a unique set of national telephone and Internet surveys. Using a national advisory referendum format, the contingent valuation method is applied to estimate annual household willingness-to-pay (WTP) for US household support of a national Energy Research and Development Fund (ERDF) for investments in energy sources not reliant on fossil fuels. While accounting for the level of (un)certainty in voting responses, the WTP modeling includes a comparison of both classic maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and Bayesian analysis. Evidence indicates that MLE and Bayesian analysis achieve similar statistical inference, while the Bayesian analysis provides a narrower confidence interval around estimated WTP. |
| |
Keywords: | Contingent valuation Bayesian Renewable energy Nuclear energy Research and development (R& D) Uncertainty |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |