The influencing factors of residents’ willingness to pay in marine ecological restoration: The integration of the theory of planned behavior and social capital theory

Abstract

Public participation in marine ecological restoration is of great significance to marine environmental protection and ecological security in China. Based on the contingent valuation method, this paper evaluates residents’ preference for marine ecological restoration, and shows that residents show the strongest preference for the increase in the number of intertidal organisms, followed by the improvement in coastal environment and seawater quality. The mean willingness to pay (WTP) for a large improvement in marine environment is predicted and is 108.96 CNY/a. Additionally, a comprehensive framework, which integrates social capital theory and the theory of planned behavior, is constructed to explore the influencing factors of residents’ WTP from the social and psychological levels. The results suggest that behavioral attitude, perceived behavioral control, and social network show a significantly direct impact on residents’ WTP. Furthermore, a mechanism is constructed from pushing power and pulling power to effectively promote public participation. This paper reveals public’s preference for marine ecological restoration and its formation mechanism, which can provide theoretical basis and empirical reference for promoting the public participation in marine ecological restoration.