Does gender matter when using cheap talk in contingent valuation studies?

Cheap talk is frequently used in contingent valuation surveys in an attempt to mitigate hypothetical bias. This paper aims at investigating in two case studies whether the effects of cheap talk on willingness-to-pay depend on the gender of the participants. Results of the two studies point in different directions. In one study, cheap talk influences both men's and women's willingness-to-pay while in the other one, it only influences women's willingness-to-pay. A possible explanation is discussed.cheap talk; contingent valuation; hypothetical bias; gender

Testing the cognitive burden of two choice modeling valuation variants. The between and within sample approaches

Scores are commonly used in environmental valuation exercises. The two main procedures when testing for score differences are the within sample and the between sample approaches. Their conclusions do not always coincide. With a case study involving scores on difficulty of responding to two choice modeling variants –contingent ranking and contingent grouping–, the paper shows the strength of the within sample approach when relying on the coherent arbitrariness principle. Results suggest that the grouping is significantly less difficult to complete than the ranking task. The validity of these results is enhanced by the fact that they are independent of the exercise order, which is tested by randomizing the sequence order in which respondents face the two methods.between sample test; choice modeling; cognitive burden; coherent arbitrariness; within sample test

Dealing with Internal Inconsistency in Double-Bounded Dichotomous Choice: An Application to Community-Based Health Insurance

Contingent valuation method is commonly used in the field of health economics in an attempt to help policy maker in taking decisions. The use of the double-bounded dichotomous choice format results in a substantial gain in statistical efficiency over the single bounded dichotomous choice format. Yet, this efficiency gain comes at the cost of biasness known as internal inconsistency. This paper aims at reducing this internal inconsistency in double-bounded dichotomous choice by using the certainty calibration technique in a community-based health insurance study. Findings confirm the internal inconsistency between the initial and the follow-up responses and the statistical efficiency gains of the double-bounded dichotomous choice over the single-bounded dichotomous choice. Furthermore, the use of certainty calibration reduces this internal inconsistent pattern in responses and still maintains efficiency gain. We further discuss the policy implications.Contingent valuation; internal inconsistency; certainty calibration; community-based health insurance

Community-based health insurance and social capital: a review

SpringerOpen Licence CC-BYInternational audienceCommunity-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) is an emerging concept for providing financial protection against the cost of illness and improving access to quality health services for low-income rural households who are excluded from formal insurance. CBHI is currently being provided in some rural areas in developing countries and there is ongoing research about its impact on the well-being of the poor in these areas. However, the success of CBHI revolves around the existence of social capital in the community. This has led researchers to explore the impact of CBHI on the well-being of the poor in rural areas, especially as it relates to social capital. The overall objective of this paper is to review recent developments that address the link between CBHI and social capital. Policy implications are also discussed

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Selected papers from the 2015 Workshop on Non-market Valuation (WONV) in Nancy

At the beginning of 2012, a small group of economists working on non-market valuation, led by Pierre-Alexandre Mahieu, decided to meet regularly to share their knowledge on valuation methods. The main objectives of this workshop were (i) to provide a forum for dissemination of high-quality papers presenting recent developments in theoretical and empirical analyses in the field of non-market valuation and (ii) to create a network of researchers (including worldwide experts) that would meet every year. WONV quickly became an annual international workshop. Every year, about 30 researchers meet in a different European city. Both theoretical and applied papers dealing with stated preference methods (e.g., contingent valuation, choice experiments) and revealed preference methods (e.g., travel cost method, hedonic pricing method) are presented. Empirical applications mainly deal with environmental and resource economics but applications to other domains (e.g., health, agriculture) are welcome

An overview of the landscape valuation studies conducted in France

This article presents an overview of the landscape valuation studies carried out in France. The reported studies are classified into three categories: rural landscapes, urban landscapes and periurban landscapes. We noticed that the majority of studies relate to rural landscapes, and more specifically to agricultural ones. Furthermore, we found that only one study relates to a remarkable architectural landscape and that no studies have been carried out in French overseas departments. Regarding valuation methods, the hedonic pricing method is the most widely used method

Using respondents' uncertainty scores to mitigate hypothetical bias in community-based health insurance studies

International audienceCommunity-based health insurance has been implemented in several developing countries to help the poor to gain access to adequate health-care services. Assessing what the poor are willing to pay is of paramount importance for policymaking. The contingent valuation method, which relies on a hypothetical market, is commonly used for this purpose. But the presence of the hypothetical bias that is most often inherent in this method tends to bias the estimates upward and compromises policymaking. This paper uses respondents' uncertainty scores in an attempt to mitigate hypothetical bias in communitybased health insurance in one rural setting in Cameroon. Uncertainty scores are often employed in single dichotomous choice surveys. An originality of the paper is to use such an approach in a double-bounded dichotomous choice survey. The results suggest that this instrument is effective at decreasing the mean WTP