Value Of Public Goods Research Articles

A Contingent Valuation Study for Use in Valuing Public Goods with Health Externalities: The Case of Street Pianos.

Clinical healthcare is not the only way to improve an individual's health. Community-based interventions can have health and wellbeing impacts as well; however, the nature of these interventions, which have public good characteristics, poses challenges for the typical ways in which we value outcomes for use in (health) economic evaluations. The approaches to valuation of these type of interventions should allow for the incorporation of all types of values including option value, externalities and individual use-value. This is a feasibility study with the objective to re-consider the importance of health externalities when valuing public health interventions that are treated as public goods from an economic perspective. A contingent valuation (CV) survey was designed to elicit individual willingness to pay (WTP) for the public piano programme (PPP). Five different scenarios were designed; three scenarios focussed on individual use-value, while the other two (scenarios 4 and 5) covered option values and externalities. An online survey was conducted with a sample of 105 people. Preferences differed across the different scenarios. The mean WTP for scenario 1 was £0.81, for scenario 2 £3.65, for scenario 3 £3.07, for scenario 4 £7.26 and for scenario 5 £6.02. The WTP results for each scenario are presented and discussed regarding the nature of the good, user and non-user perspectives, payment vehicles and individual characteristics. This study provides evidence that all types of use are necessary for inclusion in an economic evaluation, especially when the good in question is a public good where its benefits can be obtained from all community members.

Live Free and Die: How Social Media Amplify Populist Vaccine Resistance

The COVID-19 pandemic led to over one million American deaths, disproportionately suffered by those who resisted vaccination by championing individual autonomy over the collective good. The article takes as its point of departure that vaccine resistance is a recurring phenomenon in U.S. history with multiple origins. Among these are the absence of a consistent approach to public health policy—the combined result of the absence of federal police power—and tensions between the public good and libertarian values. The latest instance of populist resistance was assisted by changes in the information system. Relying on several lines of research, we specify a model of group identification that highlights social media’s role in this latest eruption of opposition. A key element is an attentive public that selectively shares information based on reputational concerns. We test our model by applying frame analysis on a body of data drawn from U.S.-based news content and audience reactions on Facebook.

A microfounded approach to currency substitution and government policy

This paper develops a search-theoretic, two-country, dual-currency model featuring endogenous currency substitution with costly authentication of foreign currency. Benevolent governments, unable to commit to future policies, determine fiscal and monetary policy weighing distortion-smoothing and time-consistency. Decisions of the fiscal authority are accommodated by the monetary authority, where public expenditures, public debt, labor taxation, and inflation are determined using the notion of a Markov-perfect equilibrium. Inflation differentials arise endogenously from cross-country heterogeneities in the citizens' valuation of public goods, rendering international differences in fiscal imbalances the root cause for currency substitution. A steady-state analysis characterizes long-run allocations and identifies the domestic and foreign governments' best responses to changes in local payment patterns. Historical data supports the theoretical findings and provides empirical evidence for the positive relationship between currency-substitution ratios, inflation, and public debt. An extension studying de jure dollarization shows that time-consistency concerns disappear once currency substitution is imposed exogenously, reducing the government's objective to distortion-smoothing exclusively.

ADAPTATION OF M. MOORE’S STRATEGIC TRIANGLE CONCEPT TO THE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

The article is devoted to the study of the possibility of adapting the concept of strategic triangle of M. Moore in the practice of public administration. The authors analyse Moore’s basic principles and ideas regarding strategic management and consider the possibility of their application in the context of public administration. The article proves that the use of Moore’s concept allows to create an effective system of political decision-making capable of solving complex social problems taking into account a wide range of factors and involving a large number of stakeholders. The main advantages of this approach are its comprehensiveness, flexibility and focus on innovations that promote efficiency in the long term. The concept of M. Moore’s strategic triangle, which includes the elements of public good value, legitimacy and support, and operational capability, has been shown to be key to effective public administration and social change management. These three components are interrelated and together determine the government’s ability to achieve public goals. The partnership with the private sector in the concept under study emphasises the importance of involving the public in decision-making processes in public administration. Taking into account the opinions and needs of citizens can contribute to greater legitimacy of the decisions made and improve the quality of public service delivery, efficiency of public administration mechanisms and public policy in certain sectors. It is proved that the adaptation of M. Moore’s concept of strategic triangle in the practice of public administration will contribute to the construction of a democratic and open decision-making procedure, where any actor can participate in making important decisions and influence the development of their country. The use of the studied concept allows to provide the voice of civil society in the process of public administration, increasing the responsibility of the state to society and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of public institutions.

High Public Good Values for Ecosystem Service Attributes of on-farm Quinoa Diversity Conservation in Peru

Agrobiodiversity is associated with a range of important but poorly quantified public good ecosystem services, the conservation of which requires public support. With a view to determining the general public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for such conservation, we organised interviews with 491 adult Peruvian residents in three regions a stated preference choice experiment (CE) to elicit the value they place on crop genetic resources conservation, using quinoa cultivation as a case study. Responses revealed strong support for the conservation of quinoa diversity particularly when conservation was framed in terms of conserving national cultural identity or food security. Respondents were willing to make a one-off donation of US$31.79 to an in situ on-farm quinoa crop diversity conservation programme, placing the highest values on programme attributes related to securing bequest/existence and option values, followed closely by stable landscape conservation. WTP was higher when the public was reminded that conservation also contributed to national cultural identify or food security. A conservative aggregation of the WTP estimates to the population of the three regions results in an estimated total WTP for quinoa conservation of US$24.18 m and a benefit-cost ratio of 1.22. Findings demonstrate the significant and frequently ignored social welfare benefits associated with non-market agrobiodiversity-related public good ecosystem services, in this case equivalent to just over a quarter of market production values. Such information can be used to design and prioritise quinoa genetic diversity conservation programmes with an emphasis on such attributes.

Methodological influences on ecosystem valuation: a systematic review of contingent valuation studies

ABSTRACT The contingent valuation method (CVM) has long been criticised for its capability in predicting the value of public goods. Split-sample studies are conducted to assess the effects of research methodologies on economic value estimation. However, there is a lack of literature that comprehensively reviews the previous works. This study addresses this knowledge gap by identifying the effect of questionnaire design and survey methods on CVM outcomes, focusing on ecosystem valuation. The preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework is adopted, and 74 previous studies are included, gathering 100 observations. The findings reveal that questionnaire design elements such as providing more detailed information, using hypothetical payments, incorporating additional questions, applying a more extensive scope of the conservation programme, and utilising dichotomous choice questions positively influence the mean willingness to pay (WTP). Regarding survey methods, results show that active users of the ecosystem exhibit higher WTP than non-users, and direct interaction with the respondents yields higher WTP outcomes. This study signifies how research methodology choices influence economic values derived from CVM, highlighting the importance of considering survey bias and aiding the development of a more effective survey instrument.

The world turned upside down: Can international student mobility contribute towards democratization and human development? Evidence from the Eurograduate pilot survey

AbstractPolitical, social, environmental, and health challenges have questioned the relevance and sustainability of international student mobility (ISM). Strong critiques towards ISM stem from current global challenges but are also rightfully prevalent among scholars of internationalization. In response to the sustained critique of ISM, this article makes the case that—despite its limitations—ISM can contribute towards important public good outcomes and serve broader institutional and higher education sector aims. Public good is operationalized as referring to markers of democratization—trust in others and political participation—and markers of human development—self-reported competency levels and happiness. Data from eight European countries collected through the Eurograduate 2018 pilot survey is used to test the association between study abroad and democratization and human development markers. By doing so, the paper aims to understand if ISM can help address some of the democratization and human development challenges faced at national, regional, and global levels. The paper also observes how these outcomes vary between international, migrant, and domestic graduates. In this article, the juxtaposition of migrant graduates—an under-researched group in internationalization studies—with international graduates highlights how migrant students and graduates can be better supported. Results offer a complex picture of inequality between international, migrant, and domestic graduates. Findings also show that studying abroad is positively associated with trust in others, political participation, higher self-reported competency levels, and happiness, underlining the public good value of ISM.

How can migration unequalize inheritance: Theory and insights from Bolivia

Indian communities in Latin America, like in the Middle East and other regions of the world, tend to have rules of equal inheritance. Yet, migration can transform ex ante egalitarian rules into unequal ex post practices. In this paper, based on evidence collected at both sides of the migration link in Bolivia, we find that the unequalization process caused by migration tends to paradoxically harm poor migrants from egalitarian communities who are driven to voluntarily forfeit their inheritance. To resolve the puzzle, we propose a novel theory placed in the framework of strategic exchange but where the migration decision is endogenized: upon migration, children take into account the prospect of potentially losing access to family land if they are unable to fulfill their care obligations. Voluntary exclusion from inheritance is especially likely if the value of rural public goods is low, farm output per capita is small, and the wages in the urban modern sector are high compared to those in the informal sector. The main policy implication is the following: a more equal pattern of economic growth, along both the rural–urban and the intersectoral intra-urban dimensions, helps minimize the disruption of rural families and communities, which play an important social insurance function.

The importance of contingently public goods

The importance of contingently public goods

Community-Level Incentive Mechanisms for the Conservation of Crop Wild Relatives: A Malawi Case Study

Despite being an increasingly important source of genes for crop breeding aimed at improving food security and climate change adaptation, crop wild relatives (CWRs) are globally threatened. A root cause of CWR conservation challenges is a lack of institutions and payment mechanisms by which the beneficiaries of CWR conservation services (such as breeders) could compensate those who can supply them. Given that CWR conservation generates important public good values, for the significant proportion of CWRs found outside of protected areas, there is a strong justification for the design of incentive mechanisms to support landowners whose management practices positively contribute to CWR conservation. This paper contributes to facilitating an improved understanding of the costs of in situ CWR conservation incentive mechanisms, based on a case study application of payments for agrobiodiversity conservation services across 13 community groups in three districts in Malawi. Results demonstrate a high willingness to participate in conservation activities, with average conservation tender bids per community group being a modest MWK 20,000 (USD 25) p.a. and covering 22 species of CWRs across 17 related crops. As such, there appears to be significant potential for community engagement in CWR conservation activities that is complementary to that required in protected areas and can be achieved at modest cost where appropriate incentive mechanisms can be implemented.

Investment in Forest Watershed—A Model of Good Practice for Sustainable Development of Ecosystems

Estimating the efficiency of the investments that generate public benefits is not an easy task, as there are various methods proposed for evaluating the value of public goods and services. The novelty of the study consists of the proposed cost–benefit methodology adapted to a real-value cost concept for estimating the efficiency of the investment in the hydrographic Fâncel watershed, in the center of Romania, using a set of five indicators. The results prove that an investment of RON 1,323,226.29, at the value of 2018, would be paid in 5 years, 0 months, and 15 days. The estimated income is RON 505,327.8/year, so at a 5% financial-discount rate and an estimated period of use of 30 years, the net present value is RON 5,612,730.67. The internal rate of return was calculated as 22%, whereas the value of the savings-to-investment ratio is 3.6%. The main findings of the analysis of the economic-efficiency indicators offer a synthetic and relevant image of the fact that the investment has proven to be effective under the analyzed conditions. The results offer arguments to assume that the decision to consider that particular investment a good practice is fulfilled.

The Reliability of Delphi Surveys and Benefit Transfer to Predict Outcomes of Contingent Valuation Surveys

<h3>Abstract</h3> Benefit transfer (BT) and valuation experts’ assessments in Delphi Contingent Valuation (CV) surveys have been used as an alternative to prohibitively expensive worldwide CV surveys to obtain estimates of total non-use values of global public goods. We test the reliability of international BT and Delphi CV estimates by comparing them to a population CV survey of Norwegian households’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for Amazon Rainforest preservation plans. The Delphi CV method predicts WTP and scope effects in line with conventional BT, motivating further testing of the Delphi CV method as a time- and cost-saving way of valuing global public goods.

AN INVESTIGATION ON MALAYSIA CONSUMER’S WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR WATER USING INCOME AND USE OF GOODS

It is quite common for people to under value public goods (like water); mainly because they are often provided for the public to use at the discretion of the government (e.g., with subsidy, discount) unlike other economic goods (like commercial products) offered for buyers at market price by practitioners. In Malaysia, the government subsidizes the price of water for the public to ensure they have easy access to drinking water and affordability. With continued increase of water demand, consumption and wastage, low water tariff is suggested as one of many factors contributing towards Malaysian public’s inefficient water use. To curb inefficiency, the government is suggested to practice high water tariff; this however is a sensitive issue since the public views water both as a public (social) good and is a human right. So, the question of how much one is willing to pay (WTP) becomes an important issue to explore. WTP refers to the final decision made on how much cash the consumer is willing to pay for a supply of water. In Malaysia’s case, WTP is linked to whether the public is willing to pay more for water services as they are used to paying less in the past. Ranges of water pricing consumers are willing to pay to get water provision in different countries have been reported in the literature; income and use of the good are the common economic determinants to measure WTP. This study investigates the role played by income and use of goods as components of basic economic model in influencing consumers’ WTP to pay more for water tariff. The online survey was participated by 252 household representatives (paid water users) in Malaysia. From one-way ANOVA tests carried out, this study found that both income and use of goods acted as determinants of WTP.

Exploring the Influence of Attitudes and Experience on Valuation of State Forest Lands via Contingent Valuation

Scholars continue to stress the need to understand the relationship between public value and citizens to shift traditional public administration to a public-value-driven form of governance. Understanding factors that influence citizen’s perceptions of public value is becoming increasingly relevant to advance such practice, however, a citizen perspective is largely secondary to an administrator perspective in public administration research. This study adopts a citizen perspective of public value and uses a form of stated-preference method – contingent valuation – to assess the passive-use value of Pennsylvania state forest lands by residents via a willingness-to-pay question. The monetary value is adopted as a signal of public value perceptions to explore how both traditional (demographics) and nontraditional (attitudes and experience) characteristics influence public value perceptions. The findings emphasize the importance of understanding valuation of public goods or services at a level more personal than traditional demographics, particularly regarding resident attitudes and experience. The findings also emphasize the complexity of how experience with a public service may influence subsequent valuation, with at least one experience being more influential than continued experience. This stresses the need to better understand the link between public service valuation, experience with a public service, and coproduction.

International Experience in the Design of China's Carbon Tax System

Since the beginning of the 21st century, developing a low-carbon economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions have become the consensus of the international community. The modern tax system is a green tax system. In theory, levying a carbon tax has the intrinsic value of internalizing the external cost of carbon emissions, releasing the double dividend of environmental taxation, and supplying internal value of global public goods for addressing climate change. It is of strategic significance to achieve peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality, promote high-quality development, build an ecological civilization, ensure the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, and build a community with a shared future for mankind. Some western developed countries have established relatively complete carbon tax systems and accumulated many useful experiences in this regard. Based on the various practices of carbon tax collection in foreign countries, this paper proposes system design suggestions for the introduction of carbon tax in our country from four aspects: tax model, tax scope, tax rate and tax preference, and revenue-neutral recycling.

ЦЕННОСТНОЕ ИЗМЕРЕНИЕ ПУБЛИЧНОЙ ПОЛИТИКИ

The paper discusses the formation of the theory of public values, determines its capabilities and limitations in creating a valid tool for the value measurement of decisions made in the public space. The request for such an instrument was formed both by civil society structures, fearful of the substitution of the real interests of citizens by the interests of the elite strata, and by state bodies seeking to estimate the reaction of society to managerial initiatives. The theory of public values arises on a controversial methodological foundation, which is primarily reflected in the ambiguous interpretation of the very concept of «public value». Firstly, as a special type of value of public goods produced in the public space. Secondly, as consensus judgments about the desired ways of organizing public life, thirdly, as the relationship of people to external social objects, which develops in the course of satisfying their basic needs. The pluralism of scientific interpretation creates difficulties in creating a universal way of value measurement of public policy, since each theoretical model involves its own ways of operationalizing the basic concepts and a contradictory set of indicators. Two methods of measuring the public value of decisions are considered: «public value mapping» (PVM) and «public value scorecard» (PVSC). The differences between these methods are due to the initial methodological principles that determine the subject orientation of the research procedures used. In the first case, we are talking about establishing the degree of compliance of decisions made with consensus public values, in the second case, about identifying the subjective attitude of citizens to specific public decisions. It is noted that in the scientific community an active search for criteria for assessing the public value of government decisions is accompanied by restrained optimism. It is recognized that it is easier for specialists to determine the public value of a particular solution but attempts to create a universal toolkit are more than modest.

Pengaturan Akad Mudharabah Muthlaqah pada Perbankan Syariah Perspektif Maqasid Asy-Syari’ah Jasser Auda

The low understanding of sharia principles towards the arrangement of Muthlaqah mudharabah agreements on Islamic banking has implications for immoral assumptions that view the youth as a mere 'guise' or 'mask' that is actually not much different from conventional banking. This is due to the incompatibility in the arrangement of muthlaqah mudharabah agreements on Islamic banking which shows obscurity and ambiguity. The purpose of this research is the foundation of the theoretical framework to understand aspects of maslahah values as an effort to improve the quality of Islamic banking regulation in order to achieve the welfare of society in line with religious ethical values. The purpose of this research is the foundation of the theoretical framework to understand aspects of maslahah value as an effort to improve the quality of Islamic banking regulation in order to achieve the welfare of society in line with religious ethical values. The research method used is a normative legal research method using a legal approach and a concept approach. The results of this research showed that the arrangement of mudharobah muthlaqah agreement on Islamic banking has not fully fulfilled the purpose or purpose of Maqashid Asy-Syari'ah Jasser Auda because the aspect of public information disclosure between customers and banks has not met the value of public goods that is the purpose of Maqashid.

Aggregate data yield biased estimates of voter preferences

Voter preferences and valuation of public goods are often estimated using aggregated votes matched with Census data at the same spatial scale. However, this method may yield biased estimates for two reasons we examine in this paper: using Census data ignores the selection process of who votes, and relying on comparisons between aggregated units makes models susceptible to omitted variable bias. To assess bias, we use both Monte Carlo simulation and a case study regarding a statewide environmental bond referendum for which we have collected aggregate data and individual exit poll data. Our results confirm the two sources of bias and show that aggregate model regression coefficients can be incorrect in magnitude and even sign. We conclude that using aggregate data will likely lead to incorrect assessment of valuation and distributional impacts of public good provision.

Improving meta-analyses on hypothetical bias by using separate models for private and public goods

ABSTRACT Previous meta-analyses examined hypothetical bias studies with the aim of identifying characteristics of stated preference (SP) design that potentially reduce hypothetical bias. However, previous meta-analyses combined observations for both public and private goods in their models. In this paper, we argue that eliciting values for public and private goods should be considered in separate models. Individuals’ behaviours, the choice of mechanism and the efficiency of mitigation techniques are specific to each type of good. Separating the models should allow more precise model specification and better identification of design effects. With two meta-regressions hierarchical mixed-effect models we provide the first meta-analysis for public and private goods separately. This approach provides specific information regarding SP design and better insight into the efficiency of mitigation techniques to reduce hypothetical bias.

Commodification of the living: regulatory problems of commercialization of biomaterials in the process of development of genomics

This article explores the normative problems of commodification of biomaterials in the process of development of genomics and genome medicine. It is demonstrated that in the era of advanced biocapitalism, when the relations between capital, knowledge and life become of particular importance, biomaterials undergo an economic turnover, are viewed as the objects of property and patent law, becoming the source of gaining profit. This results in the conflicts associated with the protection of rights of the individual, whose body is the source of biomaterials. In the context of consideration of the practices of commodification of biomaterials, the author reviews different modes of relations between the individual, science and society, with the characteristic to each of them articulation of the priority of personal or public good. The article provides the ethical analysis of incidents caused by the development of genetic technologies within the framework of the mode of confrontation between the individual and science, altruistic and compensatory modes, and mode of protection of civil rights. The conclusion is made that the developing processes of commodification require finding balance between the rights of the state and the interests of individuals, public good and personal values. The right to control own biomaterials and genetic information, voluntary and free transfer of biological materials, observance of biosafety and medical confidentiality &amp;ndash; all these problems of the development of genomics require constant ethical monitoring in each specific case of using biomaterials.