Curbside Recycling: Waste Resource or Waste of Resources?

In this paper, we estimate the social net benefits of curbside recycling. Benefits are estimated using survey data on household willingness to pay (WTP) from over 4,000 households across 40 western U.S. cities. We calibrate WTP for hypothetical bias using an experimental design that contrasts stated and revealed preferences. Cost estimates are compiled from previous studies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Institute for Local Self Reliance, as well as from in-depth interviews with recycling coordinators in our sampled cities. Remarkably, we find that the estimated mean social net benefit of curbside recycling is almost exactly zero. Therefore, the decision of whether to implement or maintain a curbside recycling program (CRP) must be done on a city-by-city basis.curbside recycling, willingness to pay, social net benefits, hypothetical bias, calibration

CURBSIDE RECYCLING: WASTE RESOURCE OR WASTE OF RESOURCES?

Replaced with revised version of paper 07/28/04.Environmental Economics and Policy, Public Economics,

Cheap Talk Revisited: New Evidence from CVM

Two recent studies have shown that “cheap talk” is an effective means of eliminating positive hypothetical bias in experimental and field-auction settings. We further investigate the ability of cheap talk to mitigate positive hypothetical bias in a CVM phone survey administered to over 4,000 households. Positive hypothetical bias is detected in our data by contrasting revealed and stated preference information. However, a short, neutral cheap-talk script appears to exacerbate rather than mitigate the bias. Based on this and mixed evidence from earlier studies, we suggest caution in using cheap talk as an ex ante control for hypothetical bias.cheap talk, hypothetical bias, contingent valuation

Estimating Hypothetical Bias in Economically Emergent Africa: A Generic Public Good Experiment

This paper reports results from a contingent valuation based public good experiment conducted in the African nation of Botswana. In a sample of university students, we find evidence that stated willingness to contribute to a public good in a hypothetical setting is higher than actual contribution levels. However, results from regression analysis suggest that this is true only in the second round of the experiment, when participants making actual contributions have learned to significantly lower their contribution levels. As globalization expands markets, and economies such as Botswana’s continue to modernize, there is a growing need to understand how hypothetical bias will influence the valuation of public goods.hypothetical bias, public good, willingness to pay, Botswana, Environmental Economics and Policy,

New Evidence on Household Valuation of Curbside Recycling

This paper looks at the willingness to pay for and participate in a curbside recycling program based on a survey of 401 residents in Ogden, Utah. Modifying the Cameron and James ( Efficient Estimation Methods for \u27Close-Ended\u27 Contingent Valuation Surveys, The Review a/Economics and Statistics 69(1987):269-76) econometric model to fit ordered-interval data, we estimate that the mean willingness to pay for curbside recycling is $2.05 per month, and that 72% of the residents would willingly participate in such a program. Furthermore, females, young people, college-educated, those currently recycling without monetary reward, those regarding recycling as beneficial to the community and nation, and those with relatively high incomes are willing to pay the most for curbside recycling. Based on projected costs and estimates of mean willingness to pay, mandatory curbside recycling appears to be a fiscally feasible method for reducing waste disposal

Cheap Talk Reconsidered: New Evidence from CVM

Two recent studies have shown that “cheap talk” is an effective means of eliminating positive hypothetical bias in experimental and field-auction settings. We further investigate the ability of cheap talk to mitigate positive hypothetical bias in a contingent-valuation phone survey administered to over 4,000 households. Positive hypothetical bias is detected in our data by contrasting revealed and stated preference information. However, a short, neutral cheap-talk script appears to exacerbate rather than mitigate the bias. Based on this and mixed evidence from earlier studies, we suggest caution in using cheap talk as an ex ante control for hypothetical bias

Household Valuation of Curbside Recycling

This paper looks at the willingness to pay for and participate in a curbside recycling program based on a survey of 401 residents in Ogden, Utah. Modifying the Cameron and James (1987) econometric model to fit ordered-interval data, we estimate that the mean willingness to pay for curbside recycling is $2.05 per month, and that 72% of the residents would willingly participate in such a program. Furthermore, females, young people, college-educated, those currently recycling without monetary reward, those regarding recycling as beneficial to the community and nation, and those with relatively high incomes are willing to pay the most for curbside recycling

Communalism Versus the Incentive to Free-Ride: Experimental Results From Economically Emergent Africa

This paper reports results from a public good experiment conducted in the African nation of Botswana. Our findings provide a test of whether\u27 African communalism\u27 influences willingness to contribute to the provision of public goods. As globalization expands markets, and economies such as Botswana\u27s continue to modernize, there is an increasing need to understand how cultural factors might influence the valuation of public goods. We find evidence that stated willingness to contribute to a public good in a hypothetical setting is higher than actual contribution levels in a real setting. However, this is only true in the second and final round of the experiment, when participants in the real setting have learned to significantly lower their contribution levels. The results draw into question the existence of a communal spirit in economically emergent Africa when it comes to the provision of public goods

A Bayesian Examination of Information and Uncertainty in Contingent Valuation

A theoretical framework is presented to explain how agents respond to information under uncertainty in contingent valuation surveys. Agents are provided with information signals and referendum prices as part of the elicitation process. Agents use Bayesian updating to revise prior distributions. An information prompt is presented to reduce hypothetical bias. However, we show the interaction between anchoring and the information prompt creates a systematic bias in willingness to pay. We test our hypotheses in an experimental setting where agents are asked to make a hypothetical, voluntary contribution to a public good. Experimental results are consistent with the model

A Cautionary Note on Tests for Incentive Incompatibility and Starting-Poing Bias

In a recent study by John Whitehead in 2002 ( Incentive Incompatibility and StartingPoint Bias in Iterative Valuation Questions ), he proposes incentive-incompatibility and startingpoint- bias tests for iterative willingness-to-pay questions. We show that if restrictions associated with the nature of starting-point bias are not imposed on the estimation, one obtains inconsistent estimates of the structural parameters and may draw inaccurate conclusions regarding the extent of incentive incompatibility and starting-point bias in contingent-valuation survey data