An addendum to: a meta-analysis of hypothethical bias in stated preference valuation

<p>A recent study published by Murphy et al. (2005) reported results of a meta-analysis of hypothetical bias using 28 valuation studies. The authors found a median ratio of hypothetical to actual values of 1.35 but they did not investigate the ratio of variances of the hypothetical and actual value distributions, which is of great relevance in joint stated and revealed preference analysis. We propose an addendum to Murphy et al. (2005) to provide some insights on the distribution of the scale factor across 23 studies for which relevant data is available. We distinguish three types of dispersion parameters reported in the literature. We find that the ratio of real to hypothetical standard deviations of marginal distributions of WTP is about 0.6.</p

Grass Root Collective Action for Territorially Integrated Food Supply Chains: A Case Study from Tuscany

The literature on environmental policy shows that institutional arrangements are key factors in designing effective environmental policies. Grass root collective action has been advocated as a possible solution for the provision of agro-environmental public goods. Building on this literature, we present a case study using a well-established theoretical framework emphasizing the role played by collective action in maintaining high quality production in a context of severe information asymmetries. We observed that several already known collective action features can be found in this successful experience. Maintaining such form of co-operation would help the chain to face the future challenges of the agricultural sector

The Efficiency of Waste Sector in Italy: An Application by Data Envelopment Analysis

With growing environmental legislation and mounting popular concern for the need to pursuing a sustainable growth, there has been an increasing recognition in developed nations of the importance of waste reduction, recycling and reuse maximization. This empirical study investigates both ecological and economic performances of urban waste systems in 78 major Italian towns for the years 2015 and 2016. To this purpose the study employs the non-parametric approach to efficiency measurement, represented by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique. More specifically, in the context of environmental performance we implement two output-oriented DEA models in order to consider both constant and variable returns to scale. In addition, we include an undesirable output – the total amount of waste collected – in the two models considered. The results show that there is variability among the municipalities analysed: Northern and Central major towns show higher efficiency scores than Southern and Islands ones

A non-parametric random effects model for the valuation of forest recreation services: An application to forest sites in Tuscany, Italy

This study assesses individuals’ preferences for the use of forest sites for recreational purposes by means of the Logit Mixed Logit (LMNL) model (Train, 2016). The appeal of the LML is that the analyst need not assume any specific functional form for the mixing distributions of random preferences. The empirical analysis generates a data-driven non-parametric representation of individuals’ preference heterogeneity. We apply this approach to data collected using an unlabeled discrete choice experiment, consisting of three recreational options, two of which are two hypothetical forest sites. Forest destinations are described by means of six attributes: forest type, sign-posting, hiking time, access to rivers or lakes, wildlife watching hides for visitors and cost of access. The empirical findings reveal that the signpost for each trail is the attribute for which respondents are on average willing to pay the most (6.565€). Further evidence suggests that respondents have strong positive preferences for those forest sites that offer amenities such as wildlife watch hides and access to rivers or lakes. Finally, the histograms derived from the semi-parametric LML estimation reveal multimodality of random taste amongst respondents for different hypothetical forest site

A nonparametric random effects model for the valuation of forest recreation services: An application to forest sites in Tuscany, Italy

This study assesses individuals' preferences for the use of forest sites for recreational purposes by means of the logit‐mixed logit (LML) model. The appeal of the LML is that the analyst does not need to assume any specific functional form for the mixing distributions of random preferences. The empirical analysis generates a data‐driven nonparametric representation of individuals' preference heterogeneity. We apply this approach to data collected using an unlabelled discrete choice experiment (DCE), consisting of three recreational options, two of which are in two hypothetical forest sites. Forest destinations are described by means of six attributes: forest type, signposting, hiking time, access to rivers or lakes, wildlife watch hides for visitors and cost of access. The empirical findings reveal that the signpost for each trail is the attribute for which respondents are on average willing to pay the most (6.565€). Further evidence suggests that respondents have strong positive preferences for those forest sites that offer amenities such as wildlife watch hides and access to rivers or lakes. Finally, the histograms derived from the semi‐parametric LML estimation reveal multimodality of random taste amongst respondents for different hypothetical forest sites

Public Food Procurement: A Systematic Literature Review

Public food procurement (PFP) is a policy instrument that has been used to “link” different objectives at once. We undertake a first systematic review of the scientific literature that deals with PFP in order to 1.) assess the progress of the scientific literature concerning PFP in different areas of the world, 2.) look for differences among them and try to identify the topics on which these studies focuses the most. Accordingly, our research questions deal with the definition of the main conceptual dimensions developed by the academic literature on PFP as well as with the geographical and temporal differences among the dimensions identified. The first evidence is the increase in the number of papers per year during the last decade. Furthermore, the literature on PFP is centred on the concepts of localisation and structured demand and its impacts on food chain actors, on citizen-consumers and on sustainability at large. As a main research result, we provide a conceptual framework of the PFP literature largely based on the concept of linkage that has been first proposed in law and regulation studies