A Comparison of Induced Value and Home-Grown Value Experiments to Test for Hypothetical Bias in Contingent Valuation

This study tests the hypothesis that hypothetical bias may not be related to value elicitation; rather it may be a value formation problem. When participants are asked to indicate their willingness to pay for an induced value good, we find no evidence of hypothetical bias for three different commodity types (public good, private good, and publicly provided private good). However, when these same subjects are asked to value homegrown goods with no pre-assigned induced value using the same elicitation mechanism, hypothetical values are roughly double actual payments in all three cases. These results support the hypothesis that the process of forming values in a homegrown setting may be a key contributor to hypothetical bias.contingent valuation, hypothetical bias, experiments, induced values, home-grown values

Depression, anxiety, and stress among undergraduate health sciences students during COVID-19 pandemic in a low resource setting : a cross-sectional survey from Nepal

Background: Mental health is an important issue for students during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty. Students suffer from mental health issues due to delayed academic years and prolong stay at home during the lockdown. This study aimed to identify factors associated with depression, anxiety, and stress among undergraduate health sciences students of different medical institutions in Nepal. Materials and Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 493 health sciences students between 14 July and 16 August 2020. Depression, anxiety, and stress were measured using the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the risk factors of mental health outcomes. Results: Overall, 50.5, 52.5, and 44.6% of students had symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. Significantly higher odds of experiencing stress symptoms [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.166; 95% CI: 1.075-4.363] were found with the participants whose relatives were infected with COVID-19. Participants with age less than or equal to 21 years among undergraduate health sciences students were significantly associated with higher odds of experiencing symptoms of stress (AOR: 1.626; 95% CI: 1.110-2.383) and anxiety (AOR: 1.6251; 95% CI: 1.110-2.379) in comparison with age above 21. Staying in quarantine was significantly associated with higher odds of experiencing depressive symptoms (AOR: 2.175; 95% CI: 1.142-4.143). Participants who had internet facilities at the residence had less likely to have depressive symptoms than those who are lacking internet services (AOR: 0.420; 95% CI: 0.195-0.905). Conclusions: Staying in quarantine had higher odds of having depression and students who had internet facilities had lower odds of having depression. While staying in quarantine or isolation, it would be better to provide things to engage like the internet. A focus on improving the mental well-being of health sciences students should be initiated immediately after such a pandemic and lockdown.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Value chain analysis, household survey and agronomic trial results in Dak Lak, Vietnam

This series Cassava Program Discussion Papers presents results of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) supported projects ASEM /2014/053 Developing cassava production and marketing systems to enhance smallholder livelihoods in Cambodia and Lao PDR and AGB/2012/078 Developing value-chain linkages to improve smallholder cassava production systems in Vietnam and Indonesi

Hypothetical bias in contingent valuation

The three essays in this dissertation address issues pertinent to hypothetical bias in the contingent valuation (CV) mechanism. Empirical evidence gathered through several experiments conducted at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is used to provide a better understanding of the cause and nature of hypothetical bias. The first essay is based upon the notion that uncertain responses in stated preference valuation are associated with hypothetical bias. While the relationship between respondent uncertainty and hypothetical bias is not well understood, calibration techniques such as the uncertainty adjustment have been developed to mitigate the bias. Hence this study seeks to fill this gap by uncovering the relationship between hypothetical bias and respondent uncertainty using induced value goods. According to the results there is no relationship between certainty of induced values and either respondent\u27s stated level of certainty or hypothetical bias. The lack of hypothetical bias with induced value goods, but its continual existence in homegrown value goods lays ground for further investigation of the bias in the second essay. By employing both induced value and homegrown value goods, this study seeks to isolate the cause of hypothetical bias. Furthermore, a within-subject design is employed to prevent the infiltration of any individual specific biases. According to the results, hypothetical bias is non-existent with induced value goods but emerges once homegrown value goods are introduced. Hence the value formation process as hypothesized by Taylor, et al. (2001) is identified as a key contributor to hypothetical bias. The third essay explores a relatively new approach to non-market valuation that is based upon a prediction format. Unlike the traditional CV format that asks individuals to state personal values and opinions, this technique inquires about their predictions of other\u27s behavior. Literature in psychology regards these estimates to be less strategic, which could potentially eliminate biases including hypothetical bias. In this study we obtain hypothetical bias in both the traditional CV and the prediction formats. Although prediction estimates were significantly lower, it was observed that individuals are able to correctly predict the magnitude of hypothetical bias in the traditional CV

Willingness to pay towards a public good: how does a refund option affect stated values?

Mandatory taxes and/or voluntary contributions are commonly adopted as the payment vehicle when eliciting willingness to pay (WTP) in environmental valuation studies. While mandatory taxes may arouse negative feelings, voluntary contributions may lead to strategic behaviour (over bidding) or free riding (under bidding). In this paper, we explore an alternative payment vehicle which avoids the draconian undertones associated with taxes and may be more incentive compatible than a voluntary contribution – a tax that incorporates a refund option. The template for such a payment vehicle is the value added tax charged to tourists in Ireland, but which can be reclaimed on exiting the country. In the context of raising public funds to support the conservation of rural countryside landscape, a comparison is made between the elicited WTP via a mandatory tax and that elicited via the alternative payment method incorporating a refund option. While we observe similar participation rates between the two payment methods, the refund option reveals a higher stated WTP

Is there agreement between beneficiaries on who should bear the costs of conserving farm landscapes?

In recent years market based incentives have been regarded as a potential solution for addressing market failure related to environmental externalities. Determining the optimal payment schedule to facilitate such market mechanism typically involves a valuation exercise to capture the static benefits received by beneficiary groups from the public good. In this study we augment the valuation estimates with a notion of 'fair share' by assessing opinions of two beneficiary groups (tourists and Bed and Breakfast owners) regarding an acceptable division of the burden of financing the public good. We find a significant difference in views. Tourists believe that their accommodation providers should contribute almost twice the amount that they themselves are willing to pay. On the contrary, a majority of Bed and Breakfast owners surveyed were against burdening tourists with any additional payments

Farming for Conservation of the Upland Landscape and Biodiversity in the Burren

The Burren landscape which stands out as one of the most magnificent managed landscapes in all of Europe has recently come under threat due to a shift in farm management practices. As a result of evolving market trends and social structures, traditional farming methods are being replaced by more conventional/commercial practices and in some cases a gradual abandonment of the lands for off farm income sources is occurring. Agri-environmental schemes such as the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS) with its generic farm management prescriptions have not proved to be effective in conserving this landscape along with its natural and cultural values. The BurrenLIFE initiative which has been experimenting on 20 farms over the last five years have targeted their efforts specifically on the Burren region to find the best scientific practices required for farming for conservation. In this study we investigate whether the farming practices recommended by BurrenLIFE project (BLP) are economically viable in providing a desirable public good. This work employs a survey based valuation technique (Choice Experiments) as well as a relatively new valuation approach (using a prediction technique) to estimate the value of some of the positive externalities generated by the BurrenLIFE management practices. Along with the positive externalities, the multiplier effect related to tourism is estimated and incorporated into a Land Portfolio Allocation (LPA) model to examine the effect of various policies and subsidies on the farming practices of the 20 BurrenLIFE farms (¿Burren 20 farms¿). Our results indicate that even with the most conservative reported willingness to pay from survey data, the rate of return on government support for these systems is no less than 235%. However, we also find that these farming practices are sensitive to the various government and BurrenLIFE subsidies to the farms; thus highlighting the importance of these payments in encouraging farmers to farm for conservation