Temporal stability of discrete choice values for preserving a cultural landscape: The Alto Douro Wine Region

Abstract

Abstract This article addresses the question of the stability of preferences over-time for preserving the attributes of the Alto Douro Wine Region, a cultural landscape world heritage site. A test–retest choice experiment is conducted with a broader time period of a five-year lag. Distinctly from the majority test–retest choice experiments, that assume scale homogeneity across respondents, a particular form of the generalised mixed logit model is applied to capture both scale heterogeneity for a pooled data set and data-specific scale heterogeneity effects. The results suggest the presence of a structural change between the two periods, indicating that the policy decision makers should be aware of the influence of external shocks on consumers’ preferences and on their willingness to pay for cultural heritage.