Open-ended Willingness To Pay Research Articles

Indian residents willingness to pay green cess to support electric mobility ecosystem: A societal benefit perspective

This study investigates the societal benefit of willingness to pay (WTP) green cess on polluting vehicles, to build an ecosystem for promoting zero emissions electric mobility in Western India. A survey method employed enabled data collection from 492 commuters and analysed using an open-ended contingent valuation method (CVM). As per the findings, about 67 % of commuters are in favour to pay green cess to help building an ecosystem for faster adoption of electric vehicles, but at comparatively low price. On positive note, around acknowledged electric mobility adoption needs a supportive ecosystem, while were not so forthcoming. The findings depicted that the average open-ended WTP for green cess evaluates to Rs 370 per month. The study engages commuters as stakeholders, helps analyse their sustainability orientation in terms of WTP and suggests recommendations for utilizing key learnings and monetary tool for inclusive developments towards a cleaner environment.

Is the public supportive and willing to pay for a national assistive reproductive therapies programme? Results from a multicountry survey

ObjectivesTo understand attitudes towards infertility and willingness to pay (WTP) towards a publicly funded national assistive reproductive therapies (ART) programme.DesignAttitudes survey with dichotomous and open-ended WTP questions.SettingOnline survey administered in...

Consumers's willingness to pay for avoiding Salmonella infection

Salmonellosis is a widely known infectious disease in Hungary that played dominant role between 1960 and 1996 and remained one of the top food-borne illnesses to these days with an estimated total number of 96 048 cases (2019). Beside direct costs of treatment, indirect costs are also significant on the level of population. Among indirect costs, consumer well-being losses are difficult to be estimated. For this purpose, the willingness to pay (WTP) method is used most frequently that measures the cost an individual would undertake to avoid a certain harm. For the well-being loss estimation, the data of National Food Chain Safety Authority's annual consumer survey was used, in which 323 respondents gave evaluable answer to the open-ended WTP question. Results indicate that an average respondent would pay 18.6 EUR to avoid salmonellosis. Main factors affecting WTP were size of family and number of children. The numbers indicate that the consumer well-being loss could be about 1 786 060 EUR annually, resulting from the multiplication of the estimated number of annual salmonellosis cases and the average WTP value. It can be concluded that consumer well-being losses alone would call for further interventions in Salmonella eradication, not to mention other – more direct – cost elements.

Willingness to pay for forest conservation in Ecuador: Results from a nationwide contingent valuation survey in a combined “referendum” – “Consequential open-ended” design

Deforestation is a threatening pan-tropical problem. Net deforestation in Ecuador amounts to approximately 500 km2 per year for 2008–2014. It represents not only an environmental problem but also a threat to social welfare. As social welfare depends on individual preferences, we examined households´ preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a proposed forest conservation program aiming to avoid deforestation in Ecuador. Our study presents results from a nationwide contingent valuation survey conducted in a geographically stratified random sample of 976 households across the three main geographical regions of Ecuador as well as urban and rural areas. About 98% of surveyed households consider the proposed program worth supporting. For forest conservation, the monthly mean WTP per household lies between $6.28 (dichotomous choice) - $3.17 (open-ended) depending on the method of analysis indicating a solid potential for supporting incentive-based conservation programs. Households also expressed their preferences by regions and types of forests but our results are inconclusive in this regard. Methodologically, our study sheds some new light on the causes for the well-known discrepancy between dichotomous-choice and open-ended WTP estimates. Our results may help improving social welfare by incorporating households´ preferences into the design of forest conservation programs (e.g., like Ecuador's Socio Bosque program). Currently realized payments for the Socio Bosque program are based on sound social support which opens doors to discuss amplifying the financial scope of the program by examining the role that households could play in funding forest conservation programs. Our WTP estimates provide aggregate information that could support the design of forest policy instruments.

Willingness to pay for allergy-vaccination among Danish patients with respiratory allergy

The aim of this study was to elicit willingness to pay (WTP) for allergen-specific subcutaneous injection immunotherapy (SCIT) in a cohort of respondents suffering from allergic-rhinoconjunctivitis (a-RC)/asthma, and to investigate how patients self-select to SCIT according to need. A random sample of the general population was screened for a-RC/asthma and asked if they were willing to consider SCIT. They were asked to state their WTP for SCIT by way of a discrete choice question (DC-q), an open-ended WTP question (o-WTP-q), and questions relating to their sociodemographic background and the severity of their a-RC/asthma. The characteristics of respondents demanding SCIT were compared with the characteristics of respondents who have actually received SCIT to establish possible barriers to demand. Our results suggest that respondents do well in self-selecting themselves to SCIT on the basis of need according to disease burden measured in terms of a-RC classification, number of contacts with a general practitioner, number of sick days, and potential quality-adjusted life-year loss. Mean WTP for SCIT was estimated at 655 euros (median, 267 euros) (o-WTP-q) and 903 euros (95 percent confidence limit, 348-1,459) (DC-q). Characteristics of respondents, who consider SCIT and are willing to pay for SCIT, suggest that allergy sufferers select themselves appropriately according to need and not according to other characteristics, such as income or education. There is a significant discrepancy between those who hypothetically consider SCIT and those demanding SCIT in real life. This study suggests that there are barriers to entry related to age and education, but not to income.

What Is a Life Worth? Robustness of VSL Values from Contingent Valuation Surveys

The value of a statistical life (VSL) is a key input for estimating the benefits of policies that save lives. Several recent studies have obtained estimates of the VSL from contingent valuation surveys, i.e., by asking people to say how much they would pay to reduce their risk of dying. This article examines statistical factors that may influence the estimates of the VSL obtained from such surveys. We examine the importance of distributional assumptions, the choice of the welfare statistics of interest, the procedure for computing them, outliers, undesirable response effects, and internal validity of the willingness-to-pay (WTP) responses. We illustrate the importance of these factors using dichotomous-choice and open-ended WTP data from four recent contingent valuation surveys.

From evidence to calibration for starting point bias: willingness to pay for treated mosquito nets in Gujarat, India

This study uses a bidding format to assess households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for treated mosquito nets (TMNs). It tests for starting point bias by allocating respondents randomly to three different starting bids (Rs 50, Rs 75 and Rs 100) and following this response with one further closed bid offer and a final open-ended WTP question. There is a clear presence of starting point bias. By undertaking a simulated market experiment (SME), this study attempts to measure the magnitude and direction of the bias so that the necessary calibration factor can be calculated with which to adjust the mean willingness to pay value. It was observed that the true mean WTP adjusted for starting point bias (Rs 56.26) is not very different from the unadjusted mean WTP of Rs 57.38. It is concluded that the presence of starting point bias, even in carefully designed WTP studies using a bidding format, cannot be ruled out. However, the existence of starting point bias itself does not reflect the magnitude of the problem. It is recommended that future WTP studies using a bidding format not only look for starting point bias but also attempt to measure its magnitude.

Robustness of VSL Values from Contingent Valuation Surveys

This paper examines factors that may influence the estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life obtained from contingent valuation surveys that elicit the willingness to pay (WTP) for mortality risk reductions. We examine the importance of distributional assumptions, the choice of the welfare statistics of interest, the procedure for computing them, outliers, undesirable response effects, and internal validity of the WTP responses. We illustrate the importance of these factors using dichotomous-choice and open-ended WTP data from four recent contingent valuation surveys.

Random error in willingness to pay measurement: A multiple indicators, latent variable approach to the reliability of contingent values

The reliability of measurement refers to unsystematic error in observed responses. Investigations of the prevalence of random error in stated estimates of willingness to pay (WTP) are important to an understanding of why tests of validity in CV can fail. However, published reliability studies have tended to adopt empirical methods that have practical and conceptual limitations when applied to WTP responses. This contention is supported in a review of contingent valuation reliability studies that demonstrate important limitations of existing approaches to WTP reliability. It is argued that empirical assessments of the reliability of contingent values may be better dealt with by using multiple indicators to measure the latent WTP distribution. This latent variable approach is demonstrated with data obtained from a WTP study for stormwater pollution abatement. Attitude variables were employed as a way of assessing the reliability of open-ended WTP (with benchmarked payment cards) for stormwater pollution abatement. The results indicated that participants’ decisions to pay were reliably measured, but not the magnitude of the WTP bids. This finding highlights the need to better discern what is actually being measured in WTP studies.

Using willingness to pay to value close substitutes: carrier screening for cystic fibrosis revisited.

Evidence suggests that previous uses of willingness to pay (WTP) to value close substitutes may have failed to discriminate between the alternatives being evaluated. This paper reports on the application of a new technique for measuring WTP in such contexts. The alternatives evaluated are two methods of screening for cystic fibrosis carrier status. The results suggest that the new method is more discriminating. Furthermore, the paper provides evidence, from reasons for respondents' WTP valuations and regression analyses, that the use of open-ended WTP questions is not valid. This is in line with the recommendations of a recent, influential, report on the use WTP techniques.

Using Willingness To Pay To Value Close Substitutes: Carrier Screening for Cystic Fibrosis Revisited

Evidence suggests that previous uses of willingness to pay (WTP) to value close substitutes may have failed to discriminate between the alternatives being evaluated. This paper reports on the application of a new technique for measuring WTP in such contexts. The alternatives evaluated are two methods of screening for cystic fibrosis carrier status. The results suggest that the new method is more discriminating. Furthermore, the paper provides evidence, from reasons for respondents' WTP valuations and regression analyses, that the use of open-ended WTP questions is not valid. This is in line with the recommendations of a recent, influential, report on the use WTP techniques. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Improving Validity Experiments of Contingent Valuation Methods: Results of Efforts to Reduce the Disparity of Hypothetical and Actual Willingness to Pay

Independent samples and paired responses of adults were used to test differences between hypothetical and actual willingness to pay (WTP) for an art print elicited using an open-ended WTP question. We attempted to overcome hypothesized reasons for divergences between cash and hypothetical WTP by asking respondents not report what they thought the market price was for the good and to act as if this was a real market. The results reject equality of hypothetical and actual WTP, but the differences are smaller than in other experiments, with hypothetical WTP being two times larger than actual WTP.

Total Economic Values of Increasing Gray Whale Populations: Results from a Contingent Valuation Survey of Visitors and Households

The consistency of an individual's willingness to pay (WTP) responses for increases in the quantity of an environmental public good (whale populations) is tested along three lines. First, we test whether WTP for 50% and 100% increases in whale populations are statistically different from zero. Second, we ask whether the incremental WTP from a 50% increase to a 100% increase is statistically significant. Finally, we test whether there is diminishing marginal valuation of the second 50% increment in gray whale populations. The paired t-tests on open-ended WTP responses supported all three sets of hypotheses. Both visitors and households provided WTP responses that were statistically different from zero and increased (but in a diminishing fashion) for the second increment in WTP. In this survey both visitors and households provided estimates of total economic value (including non-use or existence values) for large changes in wildlife/fishery resources that were consistent with consumer theory.