Testing sensitivity of willingness to pay for mortality risk reduction

Contingent valuation method was used in this study to elicit willingness to pay for risk reduction of dying because of cardiovascular or respiratory diseases. The survey was conducted on a sample of 408 citizens of Warsaw between 50 and 80 years of age. Obtained results did not pass external scope test, even in its weak form. The magnitude of risk reduction did not have statistical influence on the probability of accepting the bid.value of a statistical life, contingent valuation, scope test, robustness

Nature protection in an economically depressed region

We look at perspectives of nature protection in a wetland of international importance in South-Western part of Belarus. The region is economically depressed, which may prove to be a factor in local conservation initiatives. A theoretical model is developed to identify conditions for the local population to get involved in the fen mire conservation projects. The model is then verified by means of a choice experiment administered in villages neighbouring the site. The main outcome of the valuation experiments is to demonstrate that a carefully designed conservation programme is likely to enjoy the support of the local population who appreciates economic opportunities provided by saving the wetland.wetlands, biodiversity protection, local development, ecological tourism, choice experiment (CE), random utility model (RUM)

Irregular behaviour in stating preferences for nature protection. A Choice Experiment in Belarus

Using choice experiment, this paper investigates how Belarusian citizens value planned Zvanets mire protection programmes. Two approaches are used to analyze ignored attributes: a debriefing question, and estimating parameters at the individual level. We have found inconsistencies between people’s declarations on ignoring certain attributes in the follow-up questions and the results of modelling at the individual level. These inconsistencies lead to statistically significant differences in WTP estimates obtained.willingness to pay (WTP), choice experiment (CE), random parameter logit (RPL) model, lexicographic preferences, nature protection, wetlands

Intra-respondent heterogeneity in a stated choice survey on wetland conservation in Belarus: First steps towards creating a link with uncertainty in contingent valuation

Applications of discrete choice models in environmental valuation increasingly use a random coefficient specification, such as mixed logit, to represent taste heterogeneity. The majority of applications rely on data containing multiple observations for each respondent, where a common assumption is that tastes stay constant across choices for the same respondent. We question this assumption and make use of a model developed in the transport field which allows tastes to vary over choices for each consumer in addition to variation across consumers. An empirical analysis making use of a stated choice dataset for wetland conservation in Belarus shows that superior performance is obtained by allowing jointly for the two types of heterogeneity and that recovery of these intra-respondent variations is not possible using standard approaches, such as allowing for scale heterogeneity across tasks. We show also that intra-respondent heterogeneity can be especially high for attributes which respondents are unfamiliar with, and that a failure to account for it can substantially affect welfare estimates. We interpret this as an indication that this heterogeneity relates primarily to uncertainty. Finally, we offer initial insights into the relationship between intra-respondent heterogeneity and findings on uncertainty in a contingent valuation context

Faster user interfaces could help decrease online piracy

People would pay more for legal content, but not much more, writes a University of Warsaw tea

Testing the stability of utility parameters in repeated best, repeated best-worst and one-off best-worst studies

Stated choice (SC) surveys are a key tool for studying travel behaviour and are used to inform policy decisions in many countries. Recently, the best-worst (BW) variant of SC has rapidly increased in popularity in fields as diverse as transport, marketing and health research. A key argument for its implementation has been that it is perceived to be easier for respondents to identify the best and the worst alternative in a choice set compared to identifying the second- or even third best. For elicitation formats asking respondents to consecutively identify the first, second and third best (etc.) alternative, labelled here as repeated best stages, it is well known that utility and scale parameters are generally not stable across the stages. Joint analysis of the responses to each stage may increase the efficiency of the utility and willingness-to-pay parameters (i.e. smaller standard errors), but incorrect inferences may be made if these parameters are not stable across the stages. This paper tests the stability of utility parameters for the repeated BW and one-off BW format. Using data from three different studies, we show that, regardless of the dataset and elicitation format used, the obtained utility parameters and willingness to pay estimates are not stable across stages. The results thereby question the use of BW data in applied work aimed at forecasting and understanding first (best) choices. Our findings thereby contradict recent discussions about potentially beneficial framing effects in BW surveys. The unique presence of corresponding data from a repeated best and repeated BW exercise in one survey highlights the observed rank-orders are highly consistent across the two elicitation formats and that any differences in marginal willingness to pay estimates can be attributed to the imposed econometric model rather than to differences in the behaviour of respondents

Attitudes toward Conservation of the Transboundary Bialowieza Forest among Ecotourism Businesses in Poland and Belarus

The Bialowieza Forest is a contested transboundary forest massif in Poland and Belarus. Reflecting on transitions from value chains built on sustained yield forestry to ecotourism, we pioneer documentation of how country-specific legacies shape preferences toward increased forest protection at the expense of wood production. For both countries, we used a quantitative ordered logit model based on questionnaires to Polish and Belarusian ecotourism business owners to, for the first time, empirically study drivers of their preferences toward different Bialowieza Forest values, and we used qualitative data to identify attitudes toward the expansion of protected areas in the Bialowieza Forest. Whilst Belarusian ecotourism business owners supported increased area protection, the opposite was true for their Polish counterparts. The proportion of foreign guests co-varied with support toward increased area protection. Conversely, local origin, size of hospitality business, and role of foresters as customers decreased interest in area protection. The qualitative data revealed that narratives against extended area protection were spread in Poland but not in Belarus. The conflict over the conservation of the Polish part of the Bialowieza Forest involves actors and stakeholders with competing interests. A solution is that this remnant massif of the once widespread European temperate lowland forest becomes subject to a regional planning and zoning perspective. Encouraging multiple value chains and evidence-based collaborative learning are key components

Spatial heterogeneity of willingness to pay for forest management

This study was carried out as a part of the POLFOREX project (“Forest as a public good. Evaluation of social and environmental benefits of forests in Poland to improve management efficiency”; PL0257) funded by EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism and Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. Funding support is gratefully acknowledged.The paper investigates the spatial heterogeneity of public’s preferences for the implementation of a new country-wide forest management and protection program in Poland. Spatial econometric methods and high resolution geographical information system data related to forest characteristics are used to explain the variation in individual-specific willingness to pay (WTP) values, derived from a discrete choice experiment study. We find that respondents’ WTP is higher the closer they live to their nearest forest, and the scarcer forests are in the area where they live. Interestingly, the higher the ecological value of forests in respondents’ area, the more people prefer extending areas of national forest protection. We also investigate spatial patterns in individual-specific WTP scores and in latent class membership probabilities, finding that preferences are indeed spatially clustered. We argue that this clustering should be taken into account in forest management and policy-making.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Effect of Calcareous Fly-ash Processing Methods on Rheological Properties of Mortars

The paper presents the results of research into the influence of calcareous fly ash (CFA) processing methods on the rheological properties of mortars. The study consisted of a comparison of changes of the rheological properties (plastic viscosity and yield value) of the mortars during 90 minutes when CFA, unprocessed or processed by grinding, grain separation, or selective collection from the filter, was used as a substitute for a part of the cement. The results show that processing of CFA decreases its negative influence on the rheological properties; the efficient methods are separation or grinding, while the effect of selective collection is almost insignificant

Are bilateral conservation policies for the Bialowieza forest unattainable? Analysis of stated preferences of Polish and Belarusian public

© 0 2017 Sviataslau Valasiuk, Mikołaj Czajkowski, Marek Giergiczny, Tomasz Żylicz, ... Per AngelstamTransboundary nature protected areas constitute a considerable proportion of all the existing spatial forms of biodiversity protection. One prominent example is the Białowieża Forest, shared by Poland and Belarus. There is a considerable literature on allocation of funds to preserving nature shared by several countries. Some of this literature assess the funding schemes and the impacts on biodiversity within the EU. A particular challenge for the Białowieża Forest is that the larger part of it is outside the EU border. There has been less research on the economic benefits that citizens attach to protected transboundary land nature on the other side of the border. We are trying to fill the gap by finding out and comparing preferences towards increased protection of domestic and foreign segments of the transboundary Białowieża Forest, stated by samples of Polish and Belarusian citizens. The results of a discrete choice experiment show an almost unilateral preference for nature conservation, passive protection of forest land, on the domestic side. Whilst Polish respondents on average are willing to pay for an increased area under protection, on their side of the border, most Belarusians seem to be satisfied with the status quo. Taken at face value, there is even an apparent mutual disutility derived from the perspective of co-financing bilateral passive protection programmes in the Białowieża Forest. By use of latent class analyses of responses, a group of the Polish sample willing to contribute to the transboundary conservation is identified and described, and compared against the non-cooperative groups on both sides of the border. The results can to some extent be explained by a strict border division with a high fence, by differences in welfare or by behavioural reasons. However, it cannot be ruled out that the affected populations simply do not perceive the Białowieża Forest as a binational public good.acceptedVersio