MEASURING THE VALUE OF POTABLE WATER IN PARTIALLY MONETIZED RURAL ECONOMIES1

ABSTRACT: A pilot study was conducted to test the potential of the Contingent Valuation Methodology (CVM) to reveal the value of non-market goods in a partially monetized subsistence economy. CVM was used to estimate the willingness to pay, in the form of labor, for potable drinking water in a rural river-based community located in the Esmeraldas state of northwest Ecuador. Surveys were administered by personal interviews with families living along the waterways of the Santiago river system who used river water for cooking, drinking, washing, and waste disposal. The mean willingness to pay represented over 23 percent of real income, or 1.4 days per week for a period of one year. Results of multiple regression analysis identified the history of water-related health problems and the number of working adults in a household as significant determinants of willingness to pay. Using a non-monetary, rather than a monetary measure of willingness to pay may provide a more accurate representation of value in a subsistence economy where the use of money is limited. The potential for CVM to measure the benefits of non-market goods in rural developing regions whose economies are only partially monetized is demonstrated.     

Recreation benefits of natural area characteristics at the El Yunque National Forest

The paper applies the Contingent Valuation Method using a visitor survey to determine trip values to three rivers in northeastern Puerto Rico. Sample data were obtained from 984 interviews conducted in 13 sites during the summer months. The trip value is statistically decomposed into components representing natural features and recreation activities. The median net economic value of a river visit without waterfalls or foot trails is $96. Recreation at rivers with both waterfalls and foot trails has a median value of $138 per trip. The presence of waterfalls accounts for $23 and foot trails $19 per trip. This information can be pertinent for managers in selecting recreation site locations and protecting them from competing uses.     

Context-dependent evaluation of climate change policies: competing policies,knowledge and emotions

Climate change policies can compete with policies on other social and environmental problems for limited economic resources. This paper investigates the potential influence of alternative policies on citizens’ preferences for climate change policies. A contingent valuation study was implemented to estimate the impact of observable and unobservable contextual effects of competing polices on climate change valuation. Individuals are also investigated about their endowment of knowledge and emotional reactions to such problems. The results show that citizens’ valuation of climate change policies crucially depends on the context-dependent competing policies. The valuation rises as the number of competing policies increases. This increment becomes economically significant when the competing policies are related to specific problems such as forest fires and development. In addition, the valuation also rises with the amount of knowledge endowed by the individual about the climate change problem, and with the experience of negative emotions such as fear and sadness.     

山东省降低雾霾健康风险的支付意愿研究

采用条件价值评估法(CVM)对山东省17地市居民降低雾霾健康风险的支付意愿进行调查,运用Logistic回归模型分析支付意愿影响因素,得出以下结论:(1)居民支付意愿以城市为单位可划分为三个等级,支付金额主要集中在20~30元/月和30~40元/月两个等级;(2)支付意愿表现出较为显著的空间距离衰减性,大致呈现以济南为中心,向外逐渐递减的趋势;(3)居民的社会经济、风险认知、居住位置、人口结构、教育职业、健康自评等因素对支付意愿有显著影响。     

Better than their reputation: enhancing the validity of contingent valuation mail survey results through citizen expert groups

Although contingent valuation is the dominant technique for the valuation of public projects, especially in the environmental sector, the high costs of contingent valuation surveys prevent the use of this method for the assessment of relatively small projects. The reason for this cost problem is that typically only contingent valuation studies which are based on face-to-face interviews are accepted as leading to valid results. Particularly in countries with high wages, face-to-face surveys are extremely costly considering that for a valid contingent valuation study a minimum of 1000 completed face-to-face interviews is required. This paper tries a rehabilitation of mail surveys as low-budget substitutes for costly face-to-face surveys. Based on an empirical contingent valuation study in Northern Thailand, it is shown that the validity of mail surveys can be improved significantly if so-called Citizen Expert Groups are employed for a thorough survey design.     

农业清洁生产技术应用的补偿机制实证研究——以云南省大理州洱源县农户调查为例

以云南省大理州洱源县农户调查为例,开展农户对于农业清洁生产技术采纳的补偿意愿实证研究。研究采用意愿价值评估法,在假设政府提供补偿的前提下进行农户问卷调查,获得农户对于采用不同农业清洁技术的受偿意愿数据,从而为制定相应的补偿政策提供依据。首先,分析了农户对于使用配方肥、秸秆还田及修建化粪池等3类清洁技术的采纳意愿;其次,明确了农户愿意接受的现金和实物2种补偿方式;第三,简单估算了农户采纳3类清洁技术希望获得的补偿标准;最后,调查了农户对于政府可能采取的推进清洁技术发展的配套政策的偏好程度。     

Household Demand for Waste Recycling Services

Municipalities everywhere are coping with increasing amounts of solid waste and need urgently to formulate efficient and sustainable solutions to the problem. This study examines the use of economic incentives in municipal waste management. Specifically, we address the issue of recycling, if and when this waste management option is—on social welfare grounds—a preferred solution.A number of studies have recently assessed the monetary value of the externalities of alternative solid waste management options. In the present context, these subsidies could be interpreted as the implicit value of the benefits from reducing environmental externalities associated with landfilling as perceived by local government authorities. We surmise that the difference between mean households willingness to pay (WTP) for recycling services, via the purchase of a subsidized waste disposal facility, and the above (proxy) value of externalities reflects the difference between private and public perception regarding the negative externality associated with landfilling. We believe that this information is useful in determining the level of subsidization needed (if at all) to sustain any recycling program.The study is unique in the sense that its conclusions are based on revealed household behavior when faced with increased disposal costs, as well as information on WTP responses in hypothetical but related (and, therefore, familiar) scenarios. The article also explores the influence of the subsidization schemes on recycling rates. It was found that with low levels of effort needed to participate in a curbside recycling program, households participation rates are mainly influenced by economic variables and age, and households are willing to pay a higher price for the recycling scheme. When the required effort level is relatively high, however, households would pay a lower price, and the rate is influenced mainly by their environmental commitment and by economic considerations. We found that in both cases a subsidy would be required in order to achieve an efficient level of recycling. The median price that households are willing to pay for recycling devices is found to be about NIS 370 (New Israeli Shekel, approximately $90).