Acceptability Of Pricing Research Articles

Public acceptability of carbon pricing: unravelling the impact of revenue recycling

ABSTRACT Carbon pricing has emerged as a prominent policy tool to mitigate climate change due to its proclaimed high efficiency and effectiveness. However, the successful and sustainable implementation of carbon pricing also depends on the public acceptability. This paper investigates how revenue recycling shapes public attitudes towards carbon pricing. A systematic literature review identified 48 relevant studies from 2004 to March 2023. Using qualitative content analysis I discern relevant factors and construct a typology of revenue recycling options. Subsequently, a consensus ordinal ranking of revenue recycling options, based on the empirical findings of the reviewed studies, synthesizes current knowledge. The results reveal that revenue recycling has a crucial impact on public acceptability. While environmental earmarking ranks highest, and reducing corporate taxes is the least preferred option, numerous other revenue recycling options lie between these two options. Moreover, the literature presents divergent findings regarding the level of public acceptability of specific revenue recycling options. The diversity of research contexts and designs introduces inherent limitations that may explain variations in rankings observed across different studies. Notably, I identify political trust related to and salience of revenue recycling as important factors affecting public acceptability of carbon pricing. Finally, this research offers a framework for policymakers seeking to design revenue recycling strategies that align with public preferences to implement carbon pricing.

Investigating the mechanisms linking revenue recycling to increased political acceptability of carbon pricing

AbstractThis paper analyzes the causal relationship between the carbon tax's revenue recycling measures and political acceptability. The Irish carbon tax reform of 2019 forms the basis of the study. The findings are based on deductive content analysis and semi‐structured, elite interviews with key politicians, climate policy advisors, and other influential figures involved in the policy‐making process. Analyzing the extensive Irish revenue recycling scheme, encompassing compensatory measures and various forms of climate spending, provides researchers with the chance to track distinctive causal mechanisms over the course of a politically intense period, leading up to general elections. The results show that relief measures were crucial to alleviate concerns about the negative distributional impact of the policy, which was fiercely attacked by some opposition parties. Additionally, climate spending increased political acceptance by offering low‐carbon alternatives to consumers, even though the policy was initially construed as punitive measure, especially in regions and sectors where switching to low‐carbon options, public transport, or less carbon intense heating, were challenging or even impossible. A unique finding of the study is that revenue recycling facilitates the emergence of cross‐party agreement among ideologically distant parties. Another crucial contribution of this study is the detailed comparison, from the perspective of political acceptability, of two alternative social compensation models, the fee and dividend model, and the integration of targeted social cushioning and climate spending (hypothecation).

The role of political orientation and value framing in carbon pricing acceptance: Evidence from a representative sample

Carbon pricing is a policy instrument for mitigating climate change. For such climate policies to be enforceable and effective, citizen support is crucial. We examined how values and political orientation relate to people's acceptance of carbon pricing using Schwartz's theory of basic human values and a representative online survey of 4091 Austrian residents. The results showed that liberals were more in favor of carbon pricing than conservatives. This effect can partly be explained by the value of universalism (i.e., the value of the welfare of all people and nature) which is more important to liberals than to conservatives. However, presenting messages that emphasized the need for carbon pricing and were framed in accordance with values that fit participants' political orientation did not influence how much people accepted carbon pricing. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings and suggest directions for future research.

Transportation demand management policy efficiency: An attempt to address the effectiveness and acceptability of policy packages

As private car usage has negative effects, such as traffic congestion and air pollution, the effectiveness of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) policies could be considered as any reduction in car usage. However, the efficiency of TDM policies could be addressed by a combination of their effectiveness and public acceptability. Policy packaging is treated as a way to get more benefits from a set of policies in form of a package. Therefore, to improve the efficiency of a package containing a push TDM policy, which is usually effective but not acceptable, introducing a pull policy that is generally acceptable could be of interest. This research aimed to evaluate the efficiency of two packages of TDM policies containing a push policy (either cordon or parking pricing) and a pull policy (transit system development). Therefore, 535 working-purpose car commuters were interviewed to examine the trade-offs between the acceptability and effectiveness of each package. According to the results, although the transit development policy causes a 1.52% reduction in car usage, it significantly affects the acceptability of cordon pricing and transit development package. Finally, a discussion is provided regarding how to use the policy packages to achieve the highest potential effectiveness at a specific level of acceptability.

Using the revenues from carbon pricing - Insights into the acceptance and perceptions of particularly burdened groups

Carbon pricing is a policy instrument that is very popular with researchers and many policy makers as well. To be implemented effectively, it requires widespread acceptance by society. This paper presents an empirical study carried out in Germany directly before the implementation of its new carbon-pricing scheme for fuels in 2021. The empirical study with 83 participants focused on how different revenue use options were perceived by population groups that are particularly burdened by carbon pricing: single parents with commutes, social welfare recipients, long-distance commuters as well as pensioners with large homes. The study applied a mixed methods design involving focus group participants also completing questionnaires. The findings show a good level of acceptance of carbon pricing in view of the need to mitigate climate change and the widespread expectation that the revenues will be used to achieve this. The preferred option for revenue use are public investments in sustainable transport and climate protection. Overall, the topics discussed were often perceived as complex. The paper concludes by recommending policy makers to use combinations of revenue uses and to ensure that the overall impacts of carbon pricing and revenue use are visible to the public.

Public preferences and increasing acceptance of time-varying electricity pricing for demand side management in South Korea

Linking demand and supply management on the basis of public acceptance is essential to prepare for the energy transition from fossil fuels to environment friendly energy integration, and to ensure stability in electricity supply and demand management. Demand management could promote the conservation of energy resources by stabilizing electricity supplies and curbing consumer consumption, which could consequently help reduce capital expenditures. Major developed countries have improved the efficiency of electric facility operations by implementing demand management based on pricing programs. The Korean government also seeks to improve demand management by introducing time-of-use (TOU) tariffs to residential electricity consumers. However, the rate of residential customers switching to the TOU tariff in Korea is still low, which negatively affects the success of demand management. Accordingly, this study aims to consider the preference structure of residential electricity consumers for TOU pricing using a discrete choice experiment, and further derive policy implications to promote the pricing program's switching rate. The analysis of consumer preferences in this study shows that consumers prefer a TOU tariff plan that minimizes uncertainty. Therefore, it is necessary to provide consumers with information on their consumption amounts and usage patterns based on real-time metering to reduce consumer uncertainties. In conjunction with the findings from the scenario analysis on the choice probability of TOU tariffs, incentives such as subsidies for purchasing high-efficiency appliances and carbon points are an effective measure to lower the barrier to switching, and reduce additional utility expenses. Furthermore, diversifying tariff plan attributes is required in subsequent studies on public acceptance to accurately identify consumer preferences while considering the TOU tariff plan's rate of diffusion.

The Interrelationship between Road Pricing Acceptability and Self-Driving Vehicle Adoption: Insights from Four Countries

Driverless vehicles (i.e., autonomous and shared autonomous vehicles) are associated with many advantages for the transportation market. However, they may also increase the traveled miles on roads due to improved accessibility, thus aggravating congestion. Road pricing (RP) is a possible solution for mitigating traffic-related problems like congestion. Despite its benefits, RP is usually resented by the public, which may hinder its introduction. This study investigates the factors that may influence RP acceptability in the era of driverless vehicles and driverless vehicle adoption in the presence of RP. For this purpose, a survey was distributed in Hungary, Jordan, Ukraine, and Brazil. The study applied factor analysis, multiple linear regression, and multinomial logit modeling to examine RP acceptability and driverless vehicle adoption. All examined factors have a significant impact on mode choice. For instance, respondents willing to share their trips with others due to the application of RP, opted for shared autonomous vehicles, while those who enjoy driving were less likely to choose autonomous vehicles. In terms of RP acceptability, the respondents who were environmentally conscious in their trip planning showed more acceptance of RP. This study shows the significant impacts of the investigated factors on RP acceptability and driverless vehicle adoption.

Agency problems in solution selling: How customer perceptions of opportunism and customer characteristics impede their acceptance of outcome-based pricing

Prior work on solutions has often neglected double agency relationships. However, exchanges in solution business enable suppliers and customers to be in the agent and the principal position. Outcome-based pricing (OBP) is supposed to mitigate suppliers' opportunistic behavior; however, customers are often not willing to accept OBP. Drawing on a cross-industry survey with 172 managers of business-to-business firms, we show that the degree to which customers accept OBP in response to supplier opportunism depends on the customers as well. First, the interaction between perceived supplier opportunism and customers' opportunistic mindset on customer acceptance of OBP is negative. Second, customer switching costs and customer firm size reflecting the customers' dependence and bargaining power also intensify the double agency problem, making customers less likely to accept OBP. In addition to theoretically enriching literature on solutions and contracting from an agency perspective, this research provides new insights for managers into the appropriateness and implementation of OBP.

Road pricing acceptability and persuasive communication effectiveness

To facilitate coercive policy implementation encountering public opposition, this study focuses on road pricing policy (1) to examine an integrated framework accommodating the relationships between participation in administration, trust in government, fairness, freedom infringement, public opinion, and policy acceptability; and (2) to analyze the effect of persuasive communication with request and advice methods on policy acceptability. Using data from 175 participants in Taiwan, results find that participation in administration increases procedural fairness, which and distributive fairness via scenario fairness improve acceptability; however, freedom infringement reduces acceptability. Public opinion affects acceptability directly and indirectly through scenario fairness. Moreover, persuasive communication does not change overall acceptability but improves acceptability in the ethical aspect and for males, the middle-aged and elderly, and mixed-mode users. Findings suggest that governments should introduce public participation into coercive policy formulation and apply persuasive communication to policy acceptability improvement.

Congestion pricing acceptability among commuters: An Indian perspective

Congestion pricing can be an efficient instrument to internalize the congestion externality and reduce traffic-related problems. However, commuters' acceptability, especially commuters' acceptability, is often a barrier that prevents its implementation. The acceptability of congestion pricing by Asian commuters has not been studied much, except for the cases of Singapore and Hong Kong. In the present study, a comprehensive approach to identify the key attributes affecting the acceptability of congestion pricing by Indian commuters was used. A survey was carried out at major shopping areas and workplaces in Hyderabad, India's fastest-growing city. Using binary logit and ordered probit models, the survey data were analyzed to identify the key attributes influencing commuters' acceptability of congestion pricing. Results indicate that higher income and education were associated with a higher likelihood of accepting congestion pricing. Age was also found to have a positive association with congestion pricing acceptability. Reduction in travel time and increased public transport satisfaction were found to be the two major perceived benefits (motivators) associated with congestion pricing. Based on the findings, the policy recommendation is that the generated revenue from congestion pricing is used to improve the public transport infrastructure and safety standards of the urban road network.

To pay or not to pay? Understanding public acceptance of congestion pricing: A case study of Nanjing

<abstract> <p>Congestion pricing has been unquestionably recognized as an efficient strategy for managing traffic demand following the successful introduction of such schemes in a number of cities. However, the lack of political and public acceptance can be blamed for the nonexecution of congestion pricing projects in numerous cities around the world. This paper sheds light on the impacts of congestion pricing and the factors influencing its public acceptance. Our research was aimed to answer the following questions: (ⅰ) What are the factors that can influence public acceptance of congestion pricing? (ⅱ) What are the impacts of implementing a congestion pricing scheme? (ⅲ) How can we overcome the barriers that currently stand in the way of public acceptance of congestion pricing? To answer these questions, we developed a case study combining stated preference and revealed preference data collected in Nanjing, China. The study analyzes the acceptance of congestion pricing and the factors influencing it, such as socioeconomics, the perceived impact, fairness and public transit-related factors. We compare logistic regression and artificial neural network models to gain a deeper knowledge of the important factors and investigate the respondents' attitudes. The results revealed that the perceived impacts on congestion, the environment, trips to the city center, revenue allocation, public transportation price satisfaction, annual income, fairness, car ownership and travel frequency, along with the efficiency and capacity of public transport systems, need to be included when evaluating individuals' acceptance of congestion pricing. Among these, the perceived impacts on congestion and the environment, fairness and revenue allocation to public transportation are the most significant factors. Moreover, we offer further qualitative insight into the individual, economic and social impacts of congestion pricing. This paper provides decision- and policy-makers with important advice on how to promote public acceptance when considering the implementation of a congestion pricing scheme.</p> </abstract>

What explains German consumers’ acceptance of carbon pricing? Examining the roles of pro-environmental orientation and consumer coping style

We introduce a novel, psychological perspective on the acceptability of carbon pricing in which we differentiate between a citizen’s perspective and a consumer’s coping style. We expected acceptance to be determined by three factors: a citizen’s perspective that is rooted in a pro-environmental orientation (mediated via the personal norm to support climate policies) and a consumer’s perspective, comprising two kinds of coping foci, i.e., an action-oriented coping focus (trying to reduce one’s carbon footprint to avoid the costs of carbon pricing) and an affective, state-oriented coping focus (reacting with fear, anger, and hostility toward carbon pricing). Furthermore, we expected the coping foci to be related to people’s evaluations of their own personal situation (whether they produce a lot of CO2 or not and whether they see options for reducing their carbon footprint). We tested the hypotheses via path models in a sample of n = 603 German participants. The results showed that a pro-environmental orientation (a citizen’s perspective) was the strongest factor for acceptability. It also had a stronger influence on state- and action-orientated coping than people’s evaluations of their own carbon emissions and the options for reducing them. Furthermore, the state-oriented consumer focus seemed to be a stronger predictor of the acceptance of carbon pricing than the action-oriented consumer focus. Implications of the results for promoting climate policies such as carbon pricing and for addressing the aspects that correspond to the consumer’s perspective are discussed.

Public intention to pay for road safety improvement: A case study of Pakistan

The dramatic increase in road traffic accidents poses social and economic challenges to nations, especially for developing countries. Thus, road safety urgently needs to be significantly improved at the national level to reduce the number of road traffic accidents and costs associated with it. Understanding road users’ acceptance of road pricing regarding road safety improvement is crucial for safety-related investment programs. As such, this paper investigated the factors associated with public intention-to-pay (ITP) for road safety improvement in Pakistan. A structural equation model (SEM) was adopted to analyze the determinants of ITP according to the theory of planned behavior (TPB) combined with latent psychological variables that describe the personal characteristics and evaluations of different measures. Furthermore, the moderating effects of socioeconomic characteristics were also examined. A sample of 340 car drivers, interviewed at different locations of Peshawar, Pakistan, was used to test the model. Results of the SEM model indicated that Road Infrastructure Safety Perception and Perceived Behavioral Control have strong association with the ITP of car users’ for road safety improvement. Risk Perception, Attitude towards Traffic Safety Responsibility, Attitude, Perceived Fairness, and Perceived Effectiveness were also associated with ITP. Differential age and gender-related moderating effects were also observed. Findings from this study are expected to assist the decision-makers in the effective planning and implementation of road safety projects and related budget allocations.

Hijabista willingness to accept premium pricing: an analytical study of the effect of social and self-identity on hijab fashion brands satisfaction

PurposeThis paper aims to study the predictors influencing hijabista satisfaction towards Hijab fashion brands and their willingness to pay premium pricing as fashion consumers. The effects of product design, product quality, social and self-identity have been studied in relation to product, and brand satisfaction is believed to have led to acceptance of premium pricing. Various factors have been studied and analysed to provide a better understanding of Hijab fashion consumer behaviour.Design/methodology/approachData were collected by using online structured surveys distributed within the area of Shah Alam City in Malaysia. Convenience sampling was used in defining the 223 target respondents, and the collected data was analysed using Smart-PLS Software.FindingsThe results highlighted that product design has the largest influence on the willingness of hijabistas in paying premium prices, followed by products that reflect their social-identity while communicating their religious obligations and commitments. Communicating one’s self-identity was also found not to have a significant impact which relates to the importance of the religious and social commitments on hijabista purchasing choices rather than their own self-conceptual image.Practical implicationsThis paper provides insights on the factors that affect hijabista satisfaction towards Hijab fashion products and brands. Conclusions provided are very relevant to the practices of the fashion industry, and in particular, for designers to understand the needs of this large and significant segment of the fashion market.Originality/valueHijab fashion is a growing segment in the fashion industry, and it has been gaining recent global attention. Designers need to be more aware of the requirements of this segment of the fashion market. This research focusses on Hijab consumer satisfaction and how this reflects their willingness to pay premium prices for chosen products and brands. Factors such as product design and quality, along with social and self-identity, were studied in connection with hijabista willingness to accept premium pricing. Such connections and terms have not been covered in previous literature.

Assessing the potential acceptability of road pricing in Santiago

Studying road pricing acceptability has become increasingly relevant. Even though the policy has been effective in reducing the growing levels of congestion in several cities by curbing the indiscriminate use of the car, it still faces an initial rejection among the population in general. We discuss this issue based on a comprehensive review and set out to define what could be an acceptable road pricing scheme for Santiago de Chile. For this purpose, we estimated a hybrid discrete choice model that allowed us to segment the population according to their attitudes toward the measure. The preferred road pricing scheme in Santiago would charge only for entrance to the smallest of three cordons, around the historic centre of the city, during either the morning (or morning and evening) rush hours, provided that revenues were used to enhance public transport in the city. Since this is different from the best technical solution, which would imply charging in the largest cordon area, we suggest testing the preferred scheme in a pilot trial, following international recommendations and successful previous cases.

Road pricing adaptation to era of autonomous and shared autonomous vehicles: Perspective of Brazil, Jordan, and Azerbaijan

The advent of autonomous vehicles as a major player in the automotive market in the near future is highly expected because of its benefits in terms of safety features, comfort level, utilization of travel time, energy consumption, traffic throughput and accessibility. However, due to these benefits, number of trips and traveled miles on roads will expectedly increase. Therefore, formulating a traffic regulator policy like road pricing will be essential. Despite its benefits related to reducing congestion and revenue generating, general acceptance of road pricing is considered low. This paper analyzes acceptance of road pricing scheme and adoption of autonomous vehicles in Brazil, Jordan and Azerbaijan through an online survey comprised of a stated preference experiment, questions about various background characteristics and public attitudes and behaviours. Multinomial regression model is used to interpret the responses of participants. The results show that people’s acceptance of road pricing and adoption of autonomous vehicles are affected by several individual and environmental factors. The level of road pricing acceptance and autonomous vehicle adoption varies among the investigated countries, but in general, road accidents, pollution, and educational level have the greatest impact on Jordanians, Brazilians and Azerbaijanis, respectively.

Planning for Congestion Pricing Policies in the Middle East: Public Acceptability and Revenue Distribution

ABSTRACT This study considered two types of congestion pricing, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes and cordon pricing, and the factors influencing their public acceptability if they are to be implemented in Abu Dhabi city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A revealed preference (RP) and stated preference (SP) surveys were conducted in the city to collect data. The public acceptability was analyzed based on respondents’ willingness to pay (WTP) a toll or cordon fee to circumvent congestion. Furthermore, the distribution of the generated revenue was analyzed as an additional indicator of public acceptability. The results indicated that trip conditions (travel speed, travel distance, and trip urgency); respondents’ age, income, employment status, and car ownership; and toll fees are significant factors in determining public acceptability of HOT lanes, while respondents’ average monthly income, age, employment status, car ownership, and saving in travel time are significant factors of determining public acceptability of cordon pricing.

Toll roads vs. Public transportation: A study on the acceptance of congestion-calming measures in Madrid

• This article compares the acceptance of transit improvements and incentives to use an underutilized toll road. • Toll discounts are less acceptable than transit improvements, especially those related to carpooling. • Incentives to use the toll road are not enough to attract free highway drivers. • Socioeconomic factors play a smaller role compared to trip-related variables. To relieve road congestion, a variety of transport demand management measures (TDM) have been implemented all over the world. The success of these measures has been found to depend at least partially on users’ perception about them. Several articles have jointly addressed the acceptability of public transport improvement (carrot policies) and road pricing (stick policies). However, these research works have not considered discounts on existing toll roads to relieve congestion on free alternative expressways. The objective of this paper is to study the combined acceptance of different congestion-calming policies at the suburban level, including the promotion of toll roads and measures to foster the use of transit. To that end, a survey was conducted among travelers on a commuting transport corridor in the region of Madrid aimed at exploring their perceptions towards four TDM measures, and a choice modeling framework was conducted. The scenarios considered are “carrot” policies, and the results of the analysis indicate that enhancing public transportation enjoys more support among respondents than toll promotions. Motorists using the free highway are more willing to use transit improvements than to opt for a toll road as an alternative regardless of the proposed toll discounts. Among the TDM measures explored, the least supported is the promotion of toll discounts associated with non-household carpooling. Furthermore, according to the results, the adoption of these TDM measures is more influenced by trip-related factors, in particular, the trip frequency and the mode of transport, than by socio-economic characteristics of the traveler. Finally, some geodemographic attributes of the residential location are also found to be statistically significant.

Using Prices to Manage Water Scarcity

Water scarcity turns into shortage when water supplies are mismatched with user demands. After clarifying the different social and private uses of water, I explain how to use prices to allocate treated (``utility'') water among municipal and industrial users and untreated (``raw'') water among irrigators. Assuming institutional capacity, successful management of water scarcity requires prices that constrain total demand and revenues that cover the cost of reliable supply. Public acceptance of effective water pricing requires that policies protect the poor and the environment, i.e., policies that prioritize ``social water'' over water competitively allocated among economic uses.

Public acceptance of obesity prevention policies in the UK

BackgroundHalf of the UK population will get cancer during their lifetime, with the current survival rate at 50 %. Behavioural factors such as obesity contribute to two-fifths of the UK’s most common cancers. Food ‘pricing’ and ‘place and promotion’ policies aim to avert this risk by reducing the rate of obesity in the UK. MethodsA cross-sectional survey collected data on the acceptance of obesity-related pricing and place and promotion policies from 3293 UK adults in 2016. Cross-tabulations and chi-squared tests were performed to investigate the support for these policies in the four UK countries and different socioeconomic groups. ResultsOnly two-fifths of respondents supported all policies. Food place and promotion policies were better supported by the public than taxation, with over 70 % support for the promotion of healthy foods as opposed to 40 % support for ‘fat tax’. The most deprived social groups were least supportive of all policies. There was not a noticeable difference in policy support between the four UK countries. ConclusionThe support for obesity policies is low, most notably amongst lower socioeconomic groups and for policies involving a price increase, across the UK. Policy summaryObesity prevention policies could reduce the rate of related cancers, but their success requires public support and acceptance. Increasing tax on unhealthy foods is less well supported in the UK population than policies which affect the in-store placement and promotion of these products. Lower levels of support for all these policies among low-income groups, among whom obesity and cancer rates are highest, indicate a particular need for strategies to increase policy support in these groups.