20 years of stated preference valuation of non-timber benefits from Fennoscandian forests: A meta-analysis

Stated preference (SP) surveys have been conducted to value non-timber benefits (NTBs) from forests in Norway, Sweden and Finland for about 20 years. The paper first reviews the literature and summarises methodological traditions in SP research in the three countries. Second, a meta-regression analysis is conducted explaining systematic variation in Willingness-to-Pay (WTP). Two important conclusions emerge, with relevance for future research: (1) WTP is found to be insensitive to the size of the forest, casting doubt on the use of simplified WTP/area measures for complex environmental goods; and (2) WTP tends to be higher if people are asked as individuals rather than on behalf of their household.Non-timber forest benefits; Meta-analysis; Stated preferences; Norway; Finland; Sweden

How Reliable are Meta-Analyses for International Benefit Transfers?

Meta-analysis has increasingly been used to synthesise the environmental valuation literature, but only a few test the use of these analyses for benefit transfer. These are typically based on national studies only. However, meta-analyses of valuation studies across countries are a potentially powerful tool for benefit transfer, especially for environmental goods where the domestic literature is scarce. We test the reliability of such international meta-analytic transfers, and find that even under conditions of homogeneity in valuation methods, cultural and institutional conditions across countries, and a meta-analysis with large explanatory power, the transfer errors could still be large. Further, international meta-analytic transfers do not on average perform better than simple value transfers averaging over domestic studies. Thus, we question whether the use of meta-analysis for practical benefit transfer achieves reliability gains justifying the increased effort. However, more meta-analytic benefit transfer tests should be performed for other environmental goods and other countries before discarding international meta-analysis as a tool for benefit transfer.benefit transfer, environmental valuation, meta-analysis, forest

Can cheap panel-based internet surveys substitute costly in-person interviews in CV surveys?

With the current growth in broadband penetration, Internet is likely to be the data collection mode of choice for stated preference research in the not so distant future. However, little is known about how this survey mode may influence data quality and welfare estimates. In a first controlled field experiment to date as part of a national contingent valuation (CV) survey estimating willingness to pay (WTP) for biodiversity protection plans, we assign two groups sampled from the same panel of respondents either to an Internet or in-person (in-house) interview mode. Our design is better able than previous studies to isolate measurement effects from sample composition effects. We find little evidence of social desirability bias in the in-person interview setting or satisficing (shortcutting the response process) in the Internet survey. The share of “don’t knows”, zeros and protest responses to the WTP question with a payment card is very similar between modes. Equality of mean WTP between samples cannot be rejected. Considering equivalence, we can reject that mean WTP from the in-person sample is more than 30% higher. Results are quite encouraging for the use of Internet in CV as stated preferences do not seem to be significantly different or biased compared to in-person interviews.Internet; contingent valuation; interviews; survey mode; willingness to pay

Using Internet in Stated Preference Surveys: A Review and Comparison of Survey Modes

Internet is quickly becoming the survey mode of choice for stated preference (SP) surveys in environmental economics. However, this choice is being made with relatively little consideration of its potential influence on survey results. This paper reviews the theory and emerging evidence of mode effects in the survey methodology and SP literatures, summarizes the findings, and points out implications for Internet SP practice and research. The SP studies that compare Internet with other modes do generally not find substantial difference. The majority of welfare estimates are equal; or somewhat lower for the Internet surveys. Further, there is no clear evidence of substantially lower quality or validity of Internet responses. However, the degree of experimental control is often low in comparative studies across survey modes, and they often confound measurement and sample composition effects. Internet offers a huge potential for experimentation and innovation in SP research, but when used to derive reliable welfare estimates for policy assessment, issues like representation and nonresponse bias for different Internet panels should receive more attention.Internet; survey mode; contingent valuation; stated preferences

Meta‐analysis of landowner participation in voluntary incentive programs for provision of forest ecosystem services

Many voluntary incentive programs for provision of forest ecosystem services (ES) have low participation rates, insufficient enrollment areas, and inefficient ecological outcomes. Understanding participation behavior in such programs has therefore become a crucial part of policy success. We synthesized a large body of literature on the behavior of nonindustrial private forest owners based on surveys of stated (intended) participation or data on actual participation in existing or hypothetical programs. Using metaregression analysis, we examined how methodological, program-characteristic, and economic-incentive variables affected participation rate estimates. Participation rates tended to be overestimated when landowner participation was elicited in hypothetical choice situations (compared with real situations) and when dichotomous choice surveys (compared with census data) were used. The marginal effect sizes were quite large, for example, a 31% increase with use of stated choices in hypothetical scenarios, and practitioners should therefore be aware of them. However, use of choice experiment surveys in a modified scenario based on existing programs had no effect on participation when all other determinants were controlled for. Participation rates decreased significantly as length of the contract increased and when there was no withdrawal option. These results suggest that perpetual contracts have a lower negative impact on participation than time-limited contracts with a duration of over 50 years. We confirmed that as compensation amounts increased, participation increased. One-time up-front payments were more effective in increasing initial participation than annual payments for contracts of over 5 years. We identified the robust determinants and the effect sizes of those determinants on landowner participation rate estimates, thereby contributing to a better understanding of forest owner behavior and offering useful insights to enable researchers and resource managers to improve the design and efficiency of new and existing forest ES programs.Muchos programas de incentivos voluntarios para el suministro de servicios ambientales forestales tienen tasas bajas de participación, áreas insuficientes de inscripción y resultados ecológicos ineficientes. Por lo tanto, el entendimiento del comportamiento de participación en dichos programas se ha convertido en una parte crucial del éxito de las políticas. Sintetizamos un gran acervo de literatura sobre el comportamiento no industrial de los dueños de terrenos forestales privados con base en censos de la participación manifestada (pretendida) o información sobre la participación actual en los programas existentes o hipotéticos. Mediante un análisis de metarregresión, analizamos cómo las variables metodológicas, características del programa o económica-incentivas afectaron los estimaciones de las tasas de participación. Las tasas de participación tuvieron una tendencia a estar sobreestimadas cuando la participación se obtuvo por medio de situaciones hipotéticas de elección (en comparación con las situaciones reales) y cuando se usaron encuestas de elección dicotómica (en comparación con la información de los censos). Los tamaños del efecto marginal fueron bastante grandes, por ejemplo, un incremento del 31% con el uso de opciones manifestadas en los escenarios hipotéticos y, por lo tanto, los practicantes deberían estar conscientes de estos tamaños. Sin embargo, el uso de las encuestas con el experimento de elección en un escenario modificado con base en los programas existentes no tuvo efecto sobre la participación cuando todas las demás determinantes estuvieron controladas. Las tasas de participación disminuían significativamente conforme incrementaba la longitud del contrato y cuando no había opción de rescisión. Estos resultados sugieren que los contratos perpetuos tienen un impacto negativo más bajo sobre la participación que los contratos con límite de tiempo y una duración de más de 50 años. Confirmamos que conforme aumentan las cantidades de la compensación, incrementa la participación. Los pagos únicos y adelantados fueron más efectivos al momento de incrementar la participación inicial que los pagos anuales para los contratos de más de cinco años. Identificamos las determinantes contundentes y los tamaños de los efectos de aquellas determinantes sobre los estimados de las tasas de participación de los terratenientes, contribuyendo así a un mejor entendimiento del comportamiento de los dueños forestales y ofreciendo conocimiento útil para permitir a los investigadores y a los administradores de recursos mejorar el diseño y la eficiencia de los programas de servicios ambientales forestales nuevos y existentes.许多与森林提供的生态系统服务相关的自愿激励项目存在参与率低、参与土地面积不足, 且生态效益低的问题。因此, 了解这些项目中的参与行为已成为政策成功的关键。本研究综合了大量关于非产业化私人森林的所有者行为文献, 这些文献报道了土地所有者对已有或假设中的保护项目参与意愿)表明有意参与或实际参与(的数据。我们利用荟萃回归分析, 研究了方法、保护项目特征和经济激励变量对参与率估计值的影响。相比于真实情况, 在假设的情况下做选择时, 土地所有者的参与率往往会被高估;使用二分选择调查与普查数据相比, 参与率也被高估。研究发现的边际效应相当大, 例如, 在假设存在的情景中, 使用规定选择产生的边际效应为 31%, 因此保护实践者应注意这个问题。然而, 当所有其它决定因素都得到控制时, 在基于现有方案而所修改的保护情景中使用选择实验调查, 对参与率估计没有影响。此外, 参与率会随着合同期限延长或在没有退出选项时显著下降。这些结果表明, 永久合同对参与率的负面影响低于期限超过 50 年的有期合同。我们还发现, 参与率会随着报酬增加而提高。对于 5 年以上的合同, 一次性预付比每年支付可以更有效地增加初次参与率。本研究确定了自愿激励项目中稳健的决定因素及其对土地所有者参与率估计的影响程度, 从而可以帮助更好地理解森林所有者的行为, 且可以提供有用的见解, 使研究者和资源管理者改善新的和现有森林生态系统服务项目的设计及有效性。【翻译:胡怡思;审校:聂永刚

Internet CV surveys – a cheap, fast way to get large samples of biased values?

With the current growth in broadband penetration, Internet is likely to be the data collection mode of choice for contingent valuation (CV) and stated preference research in the not so distant future. However, little is known about how this survey mode may influence data quality and welfare estimates. In a controlled field experiment as part of a large national CV survey estimating willingness to pay (WTP) for biodiversity protection plans, we assign two groups sampled from the same panel of respondents, either to an Internet or in-person interview mode. Our design is better able than previous mode comparison studies to isolate measurement effects from sample composition effects. Looking in particular for indications of social desirability bias and satisficing (shortcutting the response process) we find little evidence in our data. We find that the extent of “don’t know”, zeros and protest responses to the WTP question (with a payment card) is very similar between modes. Mean WTP is somewhat higher in the interview sample, though we cannot reject equality on the 10 percent level. We also consider equivalence, i.e. whether the WTP difference is larger than a practically trivial predetermined bound. We can reject that the difference is larger than 30 percent, but fail to reject an equivalency bound of 20 percent on the 10 percent level. Results are quite encouraging for the use of Internet as values do not seem to be significantly different or substantially biased compared to in-person interviews.Internet; contingent valuation; interviews; mode; willingness to pay

Valuing forest recreation on the national level in a transition economy: The case of Poland

Recreation benefits constitute a substantial part of the total economic value of forests, and are important for the choice of multi-functional forest policies. The application of methods valuing such benefits is in its infancy in transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), so value estimates for policy use are sometimes transferred from Western Europe proportionally scaled down by GDP. However, little is known about how recreation values vary with income, and one risks underestimating benefits in CEE. This paper reports the findings of the first comprehensive, national-level study in any CEE country estimating annual and per trip forest recreation values in Poland using the Travel Cost (TC) and Contingent Valuation (CV) methods. Two in-person interview surveys of forest recreation behaviour were carried out. The first was administered onsite in ten representative forest areas, and the other in the homes of a national sample of adult Poles. Results show that forest recreation is highly valued in Poland, at Euros 0.64 – 6.93 per trip per person, depending on the valuation method. Both trip frequency and per trip values are higher than the average in Western Europe, despite a lower income level. Thus, a simple GDP-adjusted transfer from Western Europe would substantially undervalue forest recreation in Poland. Further, a comparison of TC consumer surplus estimates and GDP/capita in Europe shows no clear relationship, indicating that a range of cultural, institutional and other factors may be importantForest, recreation, valuation, transition economy

Ponderous, Proficient or Professional? Survey Experience and Smartphone Effects in Stated Preference Research

New parenthood causes large decreases in labor market incomes for mothers but not fathers, a stylized fact known as the “child penalty.” We combine a simple household model with estimates of child penalties in heterosexual nonadopting, adopting, and same-sex couples to better understand what causes the child penalty in heterosexual nonadopting couples. Our results largely rule out giving birth and the father’s advantage in the labor market as mechanisms, leaving preferences, gender norms, and discrimination as the main explanations. In addition, our paper provides novel evidence on the impact of children on labor market outcomes of adopting and same-sex couples.publishedVersio

20 years of stated preference valuation of non-timber benefits from Fennoscandian forests: A meta-analysis

Stated preference (SP) surveys have been conducted to value non-timber benefits (NTBs) from forests in Norway, Sweden and Finland for about 20 years. The paper first reviews the literature and summarises methodological traditions in SP research in the three countries. Second, a meta-regression analysis is conducted explaining systematic variation in Willingness-to-Pay (WTP). Two important conclusions emerge, with relevance for future research: (1) WTP is found to be insensitive to the size of the forest, casting doubt on the use of simplified WTP/area measures for complex environmental goods; and (2) WTP tends to be higher if people are asked as individuals rather than on behalf of their household

20 years of stated preference valuation of non-timber benefits from Fennoscandian forests: A meta-analysis

Stated preference (SP) surveys have been conducted to value non-timber benefits (NTBs) from forests in Norway, Sweden and Finland for about 20 years. The paper first reviews the literature and summarises methodological traditions in SP research in the three countries. Second, a meta-regression analysis is conducted explaining systematic variation in Willingness-to-Pay (WTP). Two important conclusions emerge, with relevance for future research: (1) WTP is found to be insensitive to the size of the forest, casting doubt on the use of simplified WTP/area measures for complex environmental goods; and (2) WTP tends to be higher if people are asked as individuals rather than on behalf of their household