Contingent valuation analysis of willingness to pay to reduce childhood obesity

Several recent surveys have asked Americans whether they support policies to reduce childhood obesity. There is reason for skepticism of such surveys because people are not confronted with the tax costs of such policies when they are asked whether they support them. This paper uses contingent valuation (CV), a method frequently used to estimate people's willingness to pay (WTP) for goods or services not transacted in markets, applied to unique survey data from New York State to estimate the willingness to pay to reduce childhood obesity. The willingness to pay data correlate in predictable ways with respondent characteristics. The mean WTP for a 50% reduction in childhood obesity is $46.41 (95% CI: $33.45, $59.15), which implies a total WTP by New York State residents of $690.6 million (95% CI: $497.7, $880.15), which is less than that implied by previous surveys that did not use CV methods but greater than current spending on policies to reduce childhood obesity and greater than the estimated savings in external costs. The findings provide policymakers with useful information about taxpayers' support for, and preferred budget for, anti-obesity policies.     

Arbovirus risk perception as a predictor of mosquito-bite preventive behaviors in Ponce,Puerto Rico

Mosquito-borne arboviruses are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the Caribbean. In Puerto Rico, chikungunya, dengue, and Zika viruses have each caused large outbreaks during 2010–2022. To date, the majority of control measures to prevent these diseases focus on mosquito control and many require community participation. In 2018, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the COPA project, a community-based cohort study in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to measure the impact of novel vector control interventions in reducing arboviral infections. Randomly selected households from 38 designated cluster areas were offered participation, and baseline data were collected from 2,353 households between May 2018 and May 2019. Household-level responses were provided by one representative per home. Cross-sectional analyses of baseline data were conducted to estimate 1) the association between arboviral risk perception and annual household expenditure on mosquito control, and 2) the association between arboviral risk perception and engagement in ≥3 household-level risk reduction behaviors. In this study, 27% of household representatives believed their household was at high risk of arboviruses and 36% of households engaged in at least three of the six household-level preventive behaviors. Households where the representative perceived their household at high risk spent an average of $35.9 (95% confidence interval: $23.7, $48.1) more annually on mosquito bite prevention compared to households where the representative perceived no risk. The probability of engaging in ≥3 household-level mosquito-preventive behaviors was 10.2 percentage points greater (7.2, 13.0) in households where the representatives perceived high risk compared to those in which the representatives perceived no risk. Paired with other research, these results support investment in community-based participatory approaches to mosquito control and providing accessible information for communities to accurately interpret their risk.     

Using choice experiments to understand public demand for the conservation of nature: A case study in a protected area of Chile

We conducted a choice experiment for the economic valuation of benefits of components of biodiversity that are provided by the natural systems protected in the Peñuelas Lake National Reserve, located in the Mediterranean zone of Chile. The Mediterranean zone of central Chile is one of the world's 34 biodiversity hotpots. Furthermore, we estimated the economic benefits of the water supply provided by the reserve. Unlike most of the previous studies on willingness to pay (WTP) for conservation, part of the data that we produce refers to: (a) public WTP for unpopular species of fauna (an endemic amphibian currently in danger of extinction); and (b) public WTP for flora present at the Reserve (endemic orchid species). Specifically the attributes of the study were the following: existence of endemic orchid species; chances of observing animals with scenic attraction; additional protection for an endemic amphibian; and, availability of drinkable water in the future. A rate of entry to the area was incorporated to estimate WTP for additional protection for the selected attributes. WTP data were obtained from a representative sample of Chilean tourists that visit the area. Factors influencing the visitors’ WTP were also explored.Three hundred and four Chilean visitors of the reserve were randomly selected for interviews. Multinomial Logit and Random Parameter Logit models results show that visitors are willing to pay to protect the selected attributes. Marginal mean WTP/visitor for the single levels of variation of the attributes range from about $1.7 per visitor per visit for securing the existence of five species of endemic orchids to about $8.9 for guaranteeing the availability of drinkable water for 50 years. The analysis of visitors’ WTP for different levels of protection allowed an improved understanding of the sensitivity of the participants to the scope of the information provided.     

Willingness-to-Pay for Community-Based Health Insurance among Informal Workers in Urban Bangladesh

Introduction

Reliance on out-of-pocket payment for healthcare may lead poor households to undertake catastrophic health expenditure, and risk-pooling mechanisms have been recommended to mitigate such burdens for households in Bangladesh. About 88% of the population of Bangladesh depends on work in the informal sector. We aimed to estimate willingness-to-pay (WTP) for CBHI and identify its determinants among three categories of urban informal workers rickshaw-pullers, shopkeepers and restaurant workers.

Methods

The bidding game version of contingent valuation method was used to estimate weekly WTP. In three urban locations 557 workers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire during 2010 and 2011. Multiple-regression analysis was used to predict WTP by demographic and household characteristics, occupation, education level and past illness.

Results

WTP for a CBHI scheme was expressed by 86.7% of informal workers. Weekly average WTP was 22.8 BDT [Bangladeshi Taka; 95% confidence interval (CI) 20.9–24.8] or 0.32 USD and varied significantly across occupational groups (p = 0.000) and locations (p = 0.003). WTP was highest among rickshaw-pullers (28.2 BDT or 0.40 USD; 95% CI: 24.7–31.7), followed by restaurant workers (20.4 BDT 0.29 USD; 95% CI: 17.0–23.8) and shopkeepers (19.2 BDT or 0.27 USD; 95% CI: 16.1–22.4). Multiple regression analysis identified monthly income, occupation, geographical location and educational level as the key determinants of WTP. WTP increased 0.196% with each 1% increase in monthly income, and was 26.9% lower among workers with up to a primary level of education versus those with higher than primary, but less than one year of education.

Conclusion

Informal workers in urban areas thus are willing to pay for CBHI and socioeconomic differences explain the magnitude of WTP. The policy maker might think introducing community-based model including public-community partnership model for healthcare financing of informal workers. Decision making regarding the implementation of such schemes should consider worker location and occupation.     

基于支付意愿和受偿意愿比较分析的贵阳市森林资源非市场价值评价

采用条件价值法,调查了贵阳市居民保护森林资源过程中的参与意愿、支付意愿和受偿意愿,并以此为依据,对影响支付意愿和受偿意愿的主要社会经济因子进行统计分析,构建贵阳市居民基本情况与支付意愿和受偿意愿之间的评价模型,并对贵阳市森林资源的非市场价值进行评估,希望能对贵阳市森林资源的保护以及生态补偿标准的制定提供科学依据,从而减少由于生态环境的破坏引起的经济损失,使贵阳市森林生态环境向着健康有序的方向发展。     

城市河流生态系统服务的CVM估值及其偏差分析

城市河流具有特殊的景观生态学意义,并能提供重要的生态系统服务,其价值逐渐受到社会各界的广泛关注。以全国河道治理的样板工程——上海浦东张家浜综合整治为例,采用条件价值评估法(CVM),共回收507份有效二分式CVM调查问卷,研究了城市河流生态系统服务改善的支付意愿及其总经济价值,同时也重点对二分式CVM研究中的相关问题如问卷设计、偏差分析和CVM可靠性与有效性的计量经济学验证过程等进行了适量探讨。二分式CVM研究表明(1)张家浜生态系统服务改善的平均支付意愿为1289.08元/(a·户),张家浜作为一条城市河流在未来3a内每年为浦东新区提供的生态系统服务价值为RMB6.34亿元。这与国际上的研究结论在数量级上是接近的,但与国内研究结果相比明显较高,应与研究区域的经济水平差异有关。(2)二分式CVM问卷投标数额的设计较好地界定了支付意愿的范围和分布形态,支付意愿平均值具有较高的统计效率,问卷的设计调查过程较好地控制了CVM研究中一些常见的偏差。(3)收入、学历、捐款经历、环境态度等社会经济信息变量对支付意愿具有显著的影响水平,符合经济学理论,CVM的可靠性得到较好的验证。(4)58.10%的非张家浜沿线居民对张家浜生态系统服务的改善和保护具有正支付意愿,城市河流的非使用价值(存在价值)得到了良好体现,显示了条件价值评估法在估算生态系统服务非使用价值的有效性。     

褐马鸡非使用价值评估及影响因素

野生物种资源的价值评估是保护生物学研究的核心内容,也是物种保护、生态补偿以及TEEB行动计划的理论基础和依据。运用条件价值法(CVM)对珍稀濒危鸟类褐马鸡(Crossoptilon mantchuricum)进行非使用价值评估。研究共回收有效样本503份,其中70.97%有支付意愿,通过平均值法和中位值法估算得出我国城镇人口对褐马鸡的人均支付意愿为28.39—36.88元/a,由此得到褐马鸡的非使用价值在21.89×10~9—28.44×10~9元/a之间。通过建立Logit计量经济模型对支付意愿的影响因素进行分析,进而得到受访者对褐马鸡的了解程度、见过褐马鸡次数、受教育程度及收入水平等因素对支付意愿具有正的影响,其中了解程度的影响最大,而年龄对支付意愿具有负的影响。除此以外,评估的范围、支付意愿的单位以及总样本的设定也会直接影响物种价值评估的结果。     

基于CVM的黄河三角洲城市噪声环境质量改善的居民支付意愿研究

运用CVM和统计分析方法,调查了黄河三角洲城市噪声环境质量改善居民的支付意愿,得出愿意为城市噪声质量改善支付部分金钱的占71.3%,支付额平均为3.64元/(月.人);性别和教育程度对居民支付意愿均无显著影响,年龄、月收入和噪声影响程度对居民支付意愿均呈显著的正相关关系,职业对支付意愿有显著影响,但变化规律不明显。性别和噪声影响程度对支付水平无显著影响,年龄和教育程度对支付水平均呈显著负相关关系,职业和月收入对支付水平呈显著正相关关系。     

基于CVM的鄂尔多斯沙棘景观服务价值评估

在调查鄂尔多斯沙棘(Hippophae rhamnoides Linn.)状况的基础上,以意愿评估法(CVM)为依据,设计了250份问卷,调查了鄂尔多斯地区居民对沙棘景观服务的支付意愿(WTP),并利用SPSS软件对影响居民支付意愿的因素进行了相关性分析。研究结果表明,WTP与收入水平和旅游意愿显著相关,与受访者的文化程度及其对沙棘生态作用的认知度也存在较显著的相关性。每位居民支付意愿的中位值为110.62元·a^-1,平均值为221.17元·a^-1,并基于中位值法和Spike修正模型的平均值法将此结论推广到整个鄂尔多斯地区,得出鄂尔多斯沙棘景观服务的总价值为1.759×10⁸元·a^-1～3.095×10⁸元·a^-1。     

Behind the economics of hunting in Andalusian forests

Hunting in Spain represents an imperfect market in which some hunters pay a price that is below what would be paid or they simply do not pay a market price. This article evidences the welfare that hunting activities provide to hunters in the forests of southern Spain. To do so, a contingent valuation survey of 557 hunters was conducted, and their maximum willingness to pay (WTP) to maintain their hunting activity over a hunting season was obtained. Bids were established according to the individual expenditure in the hunting market, thereby incorporating heterogeneity into the very design of the valuation exercise. The results show an additional WTP of 212 euros per hunter during the 2009–2010 hunting season, meaning 24% above their actual mean expenditure during that season. Likewise, the research shows how small game hunters are the ones who, in relative terms, would be willing to pay more for the hunting services.     

Willingness to pay for obesity prevention

The purpose of this paper is to estimate consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) and investigate factors that affect participation in therapy to reduce weight or prevent obesity. As for the decision to participate in obesity prevention therapy, the results show that the price charged for therapy is the key factor. Furthermore, the gender, education, income, the concern that work achievement is affected by obesity, and health condition variables are found to be important and significant determinants of the decision to participate in the therapy. The average willingness to pay for obesity reduction therapy which could reduce weight by 5 kg in 3 months is estimated to be NT$12,531 (US$362) among the sample respondents. The results of the profile analysis suggest that obese females with high education, high income, who think that obesity affects work achievement, and who have tried to control their weight are the most likely to be willing to pay the greatest amount for the weight-reduction therapy.     

环境价值评估中的WTP值和WTA值测算与非对称性——以广西北部湾经济区滨海生态环境保护为例

基于广西北部湾经济区4城市940位受访者的问卷调查结果,采用 logit模型对这些受访者保护滨海优良生态环境的最大支付意愿(WTP)和接受的最小赔偿意愿(WTA)进行了测算,其结果显示:5年内的WTP期望值为450.17元 a^-1 户^-1, WTA期望值为5772.71元 a^-1 户^-1,WTA/WTP比值为12.8倍,表现出非常明显的非对称性特征,但基本符合国内外在该领域的实证结果。通过对同一受访者支付意愿和接受赔偿意愿的交叉分析,可知WTP和WTA同时不为0的受访者有276人,占总抽样人次的29.4%,其WTA/WTP比值为12.54,与logit模型测算的WTA/WTP比值非常接近,从一侧面更准确地反映了这一群体对环境物品估值的差异性,同时也可反映logit模型测算的可靠性。基于行为经济学的前景理论分析,发现研究中的受访者存在厌恶损失效应、框架效应和对预期不确定风险的规避行为,同时受访者还存在明显的搭便车行为。通过对受访者的情境因素分析,发现其中2个情境因素对受访者选择WTP和WTA具有较大影响,主要表现为惩罚效应,尤其是经济收入满意度情境因素对受访者的经济行为影响显著,而另3个情境因素未表现出有规律性的影响。     

Total economic value of wetland conservation in Sri Lanka identifying use and non-use values

In tropical regions, mangroves, clean (unpolluted) water-bodies and fish are important aspects of wetland areas, which are considered as the basic requirement for livelihood improvement in local communities. Particularly, their conservation is very important to both inland as well as inshore fisheries. However, conservation of such areas is dependent on the perceptions of key stakeholders in the area. A novel approach of a one and one-half bound based contingent valuation method (CVM) was implemented to measure the stakeholder willingness to pay (WTP) towards the conservation of fish, mangroves and water in a Sri Lankan wetland area. Estimated median WTP is Rs. 264.26, which is thought reliable when considering average income in the community. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to separate use and non-use values from the total value. Results show that non-use values are a significant component in the elicited WTP value, of between 45-55%. In the past such commodities have been assigned zero or low values due to difficulties involved in assigning economic values.     

Factors affecting farmers' willingness to pay for adopting vegetable residue compost in North China

The random disposal of vegetable residues in north China has become an important obstacle for the sustainable development of vegetable industry. The composting treatment technology has been transformed into organic fertilizer by high temperature fermentation, which has become a widely promoted agricultural clean production technology. However, due to the voluntary nature of farmers' adoption and their reluctance to adopt, this study aimed at assessing the factors that influence their adoption will and evaluate the value of willingness to pay (WTP) for composting technology. Data were collected from 142 respondents through a household survey in Gaocheng District by using structural questionnaire of contingent valuation method (CVM). Some qualitative response models (Probit, Logistic and multiple linear regression models) were applied for examining the main factors influencing the vegetable residue compost adoption and estimating the WTP value. The findings showed that social resource factors play an important role in the respondents' behaviors toward composting technology adoption. The empirical results indeed highlighted that subsidy policy, top dressing time, age, scale, investment of irrigation and net income have significant positive influences on the WTP of compost, while work time and information sources have a negative impact. Government subsidy is a necessary premise for implementing the composting program. The governments should subsidize the remaining 97% of the construction costs to ensure the smooth implementation of composting technology. The findings specifically mentioned that the subsidy object should be the disadvantaged peasant groups with lower household income but more environmentally conscious. This paper is believed to not only assess the technical externality of vegetable residues for the first time but also provide decision reference for policymakers, especially in the background of rapid development of agricultural clean production technology, the accuracy and efficiency of subsidies should be improved.     

不确定性影响下的平均支付意愿参数估计

条件估值法(CVM)是估算环境物品经济价值最主要的技术方法之一。由于条件估值法中的支付意愿依赖于受访者的看法,而不是他们真实的市场行为,因此存在着诸如调查者提供的背景信息不充分、问卷格式不同等一系列不确定性因素,这些都将直接影响到受访者的支付意愿。对支付卡式(PaymentCard)调查问卷进行了扩展,增设一道反映受访者对其投标数值的确定性程度问题,在此基础上建立了支付意愿的不确定性模型,并以评估宝天高速公路(牛背至天水段)沿线生态环境的总经济价值为例进行了实证分析。研究结果表明:运用不确定性模型计算出的平均支付意愿为32.12元,总经济价值为284～349万元;与不考虑不确定性因素计算出的平均支付意愿(62.17元)相比,二者相差1倍;而总经济价值相差近294～327万元。这表明,CVM中不确定性因素对平均支付意愿影响很大,如不考虑将导致计算结果不精确,甚至存在较大误差。     

基于CVM的太湖湿地生态功能恢复居民支付能力与支付意愿相关研究

采用意愿调查价值评估法(CVM)法定量评估湿地生态功能修复保护非使用价值,力图探讨支付能力与支付意愿的相关机理.研究结果显示:(1)支付意愿调研综合置信度为2.652,处于可信程度较高的范畴,3个调研区的集中度均呈现不规则偏正态分布,WTP中位数与平均数重现性良好,中支付区域集中度达86％,符合经济学原理,说明WTP结果可信度较高.(2)公务员、教师、律师、高薪企业工人、部分高收入农民、军人支付意愿较高,两者的相关性高达0.937以上.(3)按CVM法计算,当地居民对世行工程的平均支付意愿为户均支付19.19元/月,产生区域支付差异的原因主要在于不同区域随机被访者职业构成和收入构成存在差异.(4)在估算湿地生态功能恢复项目支付意愿时CVM法是可靠的基本方法,支付能力是支付意愿的重要制约因素,中等支付能力者支付金额最高,支付能力与支付意愿之间存在不仅仅是正相关而是复杂的关联性.     

基于居民生态认知的非使用价值支付意愿空间分异研究——以三江平原湿地为例

在WTP距离衰减性研究基础上,将菲什拜因理论与条件价值法相结合,假设个人对于物品的认知在空间上并不是均衡分布的,不同空间内的受访者的支付意愿存在差异,以三江平原湿地生态系统为应用对象,将样本分为核心区、辐射区、外围区,采用双边界二分式CVM,探讨受访者对三江平原湿地生态环境保护的支付意愿水平及支付意愿的影响因素,建立基于居民生态认知的支付意愿空间分异模型。计算得到核心区、辐射区、外围区居民平均支付意愿分别为142.23元人-1a-1、105.01元人-1a-1、77.62元/人,总体呈递减趋势,验证了距离、认知和WTP之间相关性。研究结果表明,通过空间视角将居民的认知程度纳入支付意愿的计算,能提高CVM在环境价值评估应用中的有效性及可靠性。研究结论将为政府相关政策的制定和决策提供参考依据。     

青藏高原草地存在价值研究——以玛曲为例

草地存在价值研究是强化人们环境保护意识的有力工具,也是制定资源利用战略的决策依据。运用条件价值评估方法中(Contingent Valuation Method,CVM)的最大意愿支付(Willingness to Pay,WTP)技术,对青藏高原东缘玛曲草地的存在价值进行了系统研究,结果显示:2005年,牧户的平均WTP为339元/a,总存在价值为0.03×10~8元/a;收入与WTP呈显著正相关关系。据此推断,2016年牧户的平均WTP为407元/a,总存在价值为0.033×10~8元/a。存在价值小,主要是因为当地人口基数小。如果考虑玛曲草地对全球生物多样性保育的贡献,以及对黄河水源所具有的涵养功能,则其总存在价值将倍增,其中2005年为636×10~8元/a,2016年为763×10~8元/a,增幅约为20%,与当地居民的收入增长相当。这一结果表明,与玛曲草地的保护成本相比,其存在价值极其显著,应纳入成本-效益分析之中;存在价值具有动态性,应根据收入变化状况进行连续评估,以反映其真实价值,从而确保政策制定者做出正确决策。     

Understanding local community preferences for wetland quality

Summary The results of a local community survey designed to estimate the value of improved wetland quality in the Macquarie Marshes are presented. The present survey parallels an earlier survey conducted in Sydney for the same purpose. The survey involves the use of a technique known as 'choice modelling', which was developed in the marketing literature but is now widely used in environmental economics. This technique allows for the estimation of the monetary value people place on improved wetland quality, as well as enabling estimation of the proportion of the community that would support a particular wetland management option. It was found that while the local community has different priorities for wetland improvement, overall per household willingness to pay for improved wetland quality was greater in the Macquarie Marshes community than for households in Sydney. The options that received the greatest and least local community support are described.
Key words choice modelling, non-market valuation, wetlands.