Choice experiment study on the willingness to pay to improve

Modern forms of energy are an important vehicle towards poverty alleviation in rural areas of developing countries. Most developing countries’ households heavily rely on wood fuel which impact their health and social–economic status. To ease such a dependency, other modern forms of energy, namely electricity, need to be provided. However, the quality of the electricity service, namely reliability, is an important factor in reducing this dependency. This paper discusses a choice experiment valuation study conducted among electrified rural households located in Kisumu, Kenya, in which the willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid power outages or blackouts was estimated. A mixed logit estimation was applied to identify the various socio-economic and demographic characteristics which determine preferences to reduce power outages among a household’s users. In conclusion, several of the socio-economic and demographic characteristics outlined in this paper were identified and can assist service differentiation to accommodate the diverse households’ preferences towards the improvement of the electricity service.developing country, rural, power outages, willingness to pay, random parameter logit

Benchmarking of patents: An application of GAM methodology

The present article reexamines some of the issues regarding the benchmarking of patents using the NBER data base on U.S. patents by generalizing a parametric citation model and by estimating it using GAM methodology. The main conclusion is that the estimated effects differ considerably from sector to sector, and the differences can be estimated nonparametrically but not by the parametric dummy variable approach.USPTO, patent benchmarking, GAM

¿Quién lee las estadísticas oficiales?

Duración (en horas): De 41 a 50 horas. Destinatario: Estudiante y DocenteEl curso tiene un carácter totalmente aplicado y se dirige a aquellos alumnos interesados en aprender a utilizar datos para analizar relaciones entre variables económicas o de otra índole en términos de un modelo y a presentar los resultados de forma correcta. Se aplican técnicas de regresión que permiten cuantificar relaciones entre variables, contrastar hipótesis económicas y predecir valores futuros de ciertas variables en función del modelo considerado. Los alumnos aprenden a manejar diferentes programas de análisis de datos y presentar los resultados de forma ordenada y clara cumpliendo con los aspectos formales. Las clases prácticas ayudan al alumno a perder el miedo de enfrentarse a nuevos programas desconocidos y saber extrapolar los conocimientos de un programa a otros dentro de un mismo sistema operativo

Comparing the performance of different approaches to deal with attribute non-attendance in discrete choice experiments: a simulation experiment

There is a growing body of literature acknowledging that respondents to DCE often use simplifying strategies, like ignoring one or several attributes to provide with their choices. Two main approaches have appeared to analyse the impact of attribute non-attendance on welfare estimates: the stated non-attendance (SNA) approach and the analytical non-attendance (ANA) approach. Using simulation experiments, this paper investigates the results and reliability of the approaches developed in the recent years in order to deal with attribute non-attendance. The simulation results indicate that the treatments so far proposed are not in all cases suitable. In the absence of correlated errors, the SNA approach seems to provide with unbiased welfare estimates but the ANA approach fails to do so. On the other hand, in the presence of correlated errors, none of the approaches seems to provide with unbiased WTP estimates in all cases.simulation, discrete choice experiments, willingness to pay, attribute non attendance

A time varying coefficient model for panel data: Foreign Direct Investment in European OECD countries

The present article reexamines some of the issues regarding the Knowledge-Capital Model that encompasses both horizontal and vertical Foreign Direct Investment described in detail in the literature. The empirical support for this model is however a mixture. This article proposes a new way of estimating coefficients by allowing them to vary over time. The estimation results obtained using data from fourteen European countries for the period from 1982 to 2004 confirm that these coefficients cannot be considered constant over time and that the vertical component of the Knowledge-Capital Model is relevant even in the context of European countries with relatively similar endowments.time-varying coefficients, foreign direct investment

Spanish Customer Satisfaction Indices by Cumulative Panel Data

In this paper, we present a new theoretical representation of the Consumer Satisfaction Index (CSI) based on Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). We use panel data collected by an automotive magazine to apply our approach and assess the applicability in the field of marketing by formulating a competitive strategy in the Spanish automobile industry. The basic structure of the CSI is based upon well established theories and approaches to customer satisfaction (see Fornell 1992; Fornell et al., 1996). The structure based upon these theories consists of a number of latent factors, each of which is operationalised by multiple measures. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new way of representing the structure of Spanish Consumer Satisfaction (CS) in the automobile industry to study and compare the implications of its representations. We will discuss that CSI is a global evaluation constructed on the basis of its particular component evaluations. Apart from building a new way of representing the structure of CS, this work tries to correct for the bias produced by the particular method of calculus employed by the magazine.Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), factor analysis, cumulative panel data

Selecting random parameters in discrete choice experiment for environmental valuation: A simulation experiment

This paper examines the various tests commonly used to select random parameters in choice modelling. The most common procedures for selecting random parameters are: the Lagrange Multiplier test as proposed by McFadden and Train (2000), the t-statistic of the deviation of the random parameter and the log-likelihood ratio test. The identification of random parameters in other words the recognition of preference heterogeneity among population is based on the fact that an individual makes a choice depending on her/his: tastes, perceptions and experiences. A simulation experiment was carried out based on a real choice experiment and the results indicated that the power of these three tests depends importantly on the spread and type of the tested parameter distribution.choice experiment, simulation, preference heterogeneity, random parameter logit, tests for selecting random parameters

Suitability of discrete choice experiments for landscape management under the European Landscape Convention

[EN] Landscapes throughout the world are increasingly being altered as a result of human actions and natural processes, therefore necessitating urgent management. Acknowledging this situation, the European Landscape Convention (ELC) was approved in 2000 with the explicit objective of protecting, managing and planning European landscapes. In this paper, we provide empirical evidence on the suitability of the Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) method-ology for valuing multidimensional landscapes under the ELC. An application in the Basque Country, Spain, serves as an example to illustrate that the DCE methodology may be suitable for supporting the aims of the ELC because: (i) it is a tool for public consultation; (ii) it offers an insight into the relative attractiveness of key landscape attributes, such as native forests and farming activities; and (iii) it provides policy-makers with quantitative information on the public preferences for potential future landscape protection, management and planning programmes. The results highlight the important role that the conservation of native forests and the promotion of organic farming may play in the management of European landscapes, which in turn is found to be strongly culturally dependent

The influence of cultural identity on the WTP to protect natural resources: some empirical evidence

This paper shows that cultural identity may have considerable influence on the WTP to protect natural resources. The Basque Country, the region with the highest ethnic homogeneity in Europe, serves as an example to illustrate how important this issue can be in the environmental valuation of natural resources. The rationale for this influence may be found in the deep roots of the Basque culture, a culture where amalurra (mother Earth), i.e. the natural environment, has a central role, as studies from diverse disciplines such as anthropology, psychology and political science have shown. Simulated full distribution of the WTP to protect a Basque natural area using a random parameter logit model reveals that mean marginal WTP to protect its environmental attributes is approximately 60% higher if the cultural identity of the respondent is Basque. To our knowledge, this is the first application to show the influence of cultural identity on the WTP to protect natural resources. Our findings have some methodological and policy implications. On the one hand, failure to take into account cultural identitary issues could result in significantly biased results in benefit transfer applications. On the other hand, policies aimed at conservation natural resources should consider the cultural context in which they will be implemented.The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Department of Environment of the Basque Government and from the Department of Education of the Basque Government through grant IT-334-07 (UPV/EHU Econometrics Research Group)

The management of Natura 2000 Network sites: a discrete choice experiment approach

One of the main problems that public institutions face in the management of protected areas, such as the European Natura 2000 network, is how to design and implement sustainable management plans accounting both for the social cost and benefits of conserving these sites. This paper provides with an empirical application of a discrete choice experiment undertaken in a Natura 2000 site in the Basque Country (Spain) aimed at evaluating the social preferences for different land-use options. This information is then used to evaluate the social desirability of some future management plans.environmental valuation, discrete choice experiments, choice modelling, Natura 2000