Adopt a hypothetical pup: A count data approach to the valuation of wildlife.

The willingness to pay for a coyote conservation program is estimated using a novel payment-vehicle, based on how many coyotes respondents would be willing to sponsor. This hypothetical scenario mimics an increasingly popular type of actual market. Data from a phone survey conducted in Prince Edward Island are analyzed using count data models that consider different processes explaining zero responses and the level of positive responses. This is particularly important in the case of coyotes, often regarded as a bad. Estimates of willingness to pay per coyote around $18-$20 and annual consumer surplus per respondent of about $35-$42 are obtained.coyotes, wildlife, contingent valuation, count data, zero- inflation

An Estimation of Residential Water Demand Using Co-Integration and Error Correction Techniques

In this paper short- and long-run price elasticities of residential water demand are estimated using co-integration and error-correction methods. Unit root tests reveal that water use series and series of other variables affecting use are non-stationary. However, a long-run co-integrating relationship is found in the water demand model, which makes it possible to obtain a partial correction term and to estimate an error correction model. The empirical application uses monthly time-series observations from Seville (Spain). The price-elasticity of demand is estimated as around -0.1 in the short run and -0.5 in the long run. These results are robust to the use of different specifications.seasonal unit roots; residential water demand; price elasticity; time-series; co-integration; Error Correction Model

A Box-Cox double-hurdle model of wildlife valuation: the citizen’s perspective.

A stated-preference approach is used to elicit the attitudes of the general public towards coyotes conservation. The payment vehicle is presented in a way that explicitly prompts individuals to adopt a citizen perspective, rather than a consumer perspective, when responding to the survey. To deal with the large numbers of zero responses, a Box- Cox Double Hurdle specification is used to model separately individuals’ choices about whether to support conservation or not and their choice about the degree of support. The results show that simpler analyses that do not account explicitly for this two different decisions would lead to misleading conclusions in the study of nuisance wildlife. The study uses a survey conducted in Prince Edward Island (Canada).Coyotes; wildlife valuation, citizen versus consumer preferences; paymentvehicle; Box-Cox, double hurdle time-series, co- integration, Error Correction Model.

`Been there done that': Disentangling option value effects from user heterogeneity when valuing natural resources with a use component.

Endogeneity bias arises in contingent valuation studies when the error term in the willingness to pay (WTP) equation is correlated with explanatory variables because observable and unobservable characteristics of the respondents affect both their WTP and the value of those variables. We correct for the endogeneity of variables that capture previous experience with the resource valued, humpback whales, and with the area of study. We consider several endogenous behavioral variables, so we apply a multivariate probit approach to jointly model them with WTP. In this case, correcting for endogeneity increases econometric efficiency and substantially corrects the bias affecting the estimated coefficients of the experience variables, by isolating the decreasing effect on option value caused by having experienced the resource. Stark differences are unveiled between the marginal effects on willingness to pay of experience of the resources in an alternative location versus experience in the location studied

Respondent uncertainty in contingent valuation: the case of whale conservation in Newfoundland and Labrador

In this paper we investigate the issue of respondent uncertainty in contingent valuation studies while estimating the willingness to pay for a whale conservation program o¤ the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. We use data from a phone survey administered to a sample (N=614) of adult Canadians, proposing a policy consisting of subsidizing and enforcing the use of acoustic devices that would reduce the likelihood that whales become entangled in �shing nets. A follow-up question asked respondents how certain they were about their answer to the main dichotomous-choice question, which allows us to investigate how the treatment of uncertainty a¤ects value measures. A mean willingness to pay of about $81/year per respondent is estimated when accounting for the degree of certainty with which respondents expressed their willingness to pay. We also analyze payment vehicle e¤ects using a split-sample approach whereby some respondents were asked a dichotomous-choice question about a tax contribution while others were asked about a voluntary donation instead.contingent valuation; whales; preference uncertainty; dichotomous choice; payment vehicle; willingness to pay

`Been there done that': Disentangling option value effects from user heterogeneity when valuing natural resources with a use component.

Endogeneity bias arises in contingent valuation studies when the error term in the willingness to pay (WTP) equation is correlated with explanatory variables because observable and unobservable characteristics of the respondents affect both their WTP and the value of those variables. We correct for the endogeneity of variables that capture previous experience with the resource valued, humpback whales, and with the area of study. We consider several endogenous behavioral variables, so we apply a multivariate probit approach to jointly model them with WTP. In this case, correcting for endogeneity increases econometric efficiency and substantially corrects the bias affecting the estimated coefficients of the experience variables, by isolating the decreasing effect on option value caused by having experienced the resource. Stark differences are unveiled between the marginal effects on willingness to pay of experience of the resources in an alternative location versus experience in the location studied.contingent valuation; respondent experience; option values; multivari-ate probit; endogeneity; whales

An Estimation of Residential Water Demand Using Co-integration and Error Correction Techniques

The purpose of this paper is to measure the short- and long-run effect ofthe price of water on residential water use. Unit root tests reveal that water use series and series of other variables affecting use are non-stationary. However, a long-run co-integrating relationship is found in the demand model, which makes possible to obtain a partial correction term and to estimate an error correction model. The empirical application uses monthly time-series observations from Seville (Spain). The price-elasticity of demand is estimated as around -0.1 in the short run and -0.5 in the long run. These results are robust to the use of different specifications.seasonal unit roots, residential water demand, price elasticity, time-series, co-integration, Error Correction Model.

Multi-destination and multi-purpose trip effects in the analysis of the demand for trips to a remote recreational site

One of the basic assumptions of the travel cost method for recreational demand analysis is that the travel cost is always incurred for a single purpose recreational trip. Several studies have skirted around the issue with simplifying assumptions and dropping observations considered as non-conventional holiday-makers or as non-traditional visitors from the sample. The effectof such simplifications on the benefit estimates remains conjectural. Given the remoteness of notable recreational parks, multi-destination or multi-purpose trips are not uncommon. This paper examines the consequences of allocating travel costs to a recreational site when some trips were taken for purposes other than recreation and/or included visits to other recreational sites. Using a multi-purpose weighting approach on data from Gros Morne National Park, Canada, we conclude that a proper correction for multi-destination or multi-purpose trip is more of what is needed to avoid potential biases in the estimated effects of the price (travel-cost) variable and of the income variable in the trip generation equation.Travel cost method; multi-purpose trips; multi-destination trips; count data; consumer surplus, endogenous stratification

Recreation Demand Analysis under Truncation, Overdispersion, and Endogenous Stratification: An Application to Gros Morne National Park

Using on-site survey data from Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, this paper estimates and compares several truncated count data models of recreation demand. The model that not only accounts for the truncated and overdispersed nature of the data but also for endogenous stratification duet o the oversampling of avid users, while allowing for flexible specification of the overdispersion parameter dominates on the basis of goodness of fit. The results are used to estimate the users’ value of access to the park.on-site sampling, endogenous stratification, consumer surplus, count data, overdispersion, recreation demand, travel cost method, truncation.

An Estimation of Residential Water Demand Using Co-Integration and Error Correction Techniques

In this paper short- and long-run price elasticities of residential water demand are estimated using co-integration and error-correction methods. Unit root tests reveal that water use series and series of other variables affecting use are non-stationary. However, a long-run co-integrating relationship is found in the water demand model, which makes it possible to obtain a partial correction term and to estimate an error correction model. The empirical application uses monthly time-series observations from Seville (Spain). The price-elasticity of demand is estimated as around -0.1 in the short run and -0.5 in the long run. These results are robust to the use of different specifications