Willingness to Pay

This paper contributes to the limited literature of monetary valuation of the effects of natural hazards. In particular, we focus on natural hazards caused by climate change and measure willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid relevant environmental and health risks in coastal environments. We also allow short, medium and long term for the effects of mitigation measures, in order to investigate differences and/or similarities in people's WTP for these different time horizons. A choice experiment is used and implemented in Stantander, Spain, a coastal region that faces a number of significant challenges due to climate change: (a) vulnerability to marine dynamics, with effects on its beaches (and their role as focal locations for social and touristic activities) as well as built environment and businesses, (b) loss of marine biodiversity and (c) increase in exposure to medusas and other dangerous and alien species present on the beaches, which result to restriction of bathing activities due to health risks. Finally, the empirical results from this paper provide useful insights with regards to the development of optimal (economically efficient, socially acceptable and environmentally sound) risk insurance schemes against extreme natural hazards.

Objective – This research aims to map and identify the areas vulnerable to flood in Central Java Province, Indonesia, using Geography Information System (GIS) and value the economic impact on flood mitigation using Contingent Valuation Methods (CVM). Methodology/Technique – The data regarding geographical, demographical, socioeconomic , and topographical condition collected from local governments in Central Java Province, Meteorology and Geophysics Board, the Statistical Bureau, and Planning and Development Boar. Findings – Spatial analysis with GIS provides evidence that Surakarta, Sragen, and Sukoharjo districts are more vulnerable to flood than other districts in Central Java Province. This evidence points the need to conduct a thorough study on these areas. Novelty – This research contributes to empirical study, methodology, and policy implications.

Background: Adult outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) programs have been reported in the literature for over 20 years, however there are no published reports quantifying preference for treatment location of patients referred to an OPAT program. The purpose of this study was to elicit treatment location preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) from patients referred to an OPAT program.

How malleable are preferences? This paper provides experimental evidence on the extent to which insurance sellers can influence buyers and whether mandatory information disclosure offsets these effects. The experiment involves 214 subjects seeking or recently obtaining unsecured loans and 25 sellers with experience of commission selling and in receipt of substantial performance pay. Potential insurance buyers had up to £5,750 value at risk. Extravert sellers are particularly effective. The most persuasive sellers raise willingness to pay by a substantial amount relative to the least successful. These differences arise even though sellers are only given a couple of minutes to make a "pitch". Trusting buyers seem the most susceptible to seller influence. Revealing information concerning value for money (the claims ratio) or the seller's commission is regarded as important by most consumers but is found to have negligible effects on behaviour. Knowing the claims ratio tends to make subjects less confident in their decisions. Overall, there is little evidence that disclosure benefits consumers. * We would like to thank the FSA for commissioning this experiment and ORC, in particular Martin Grimwood and Chris Marsh, for their professional handling of the logistics.

Some firms (e.g. Intel and Medtronics) use a time-pacing strategy for product development (PD), introducing new generations at regular intervals. If the firm adopts a fast pace (introducing frequently), it prematurely cannibalizes its old generation, incurring high development costs, while if it has a slow pace, it fails to capitalize on customer willingness-to-pay for improved technology. We develop a model to gain insight into which factors drive the pace. We consider PD cost, the diffusion rate (coefficients of innovation and imitation), the rate of margin decline, and the degree to which a new generation stimulates market growth. We find that a faster pace is generally associated with faster diffusion, a higher market growth rate and faster margin decay. Not so intuitively, we find that relatively minor differences in the development cost function can significantly impact the pace.

A social-psychological model is developed to examine the proposition that environmentalism represents a new way of thinking. It presumes that action in support of environmental quality may derive from any of three value orientations: egoistic, social-altruistic, or biospheric, and that gender may be implicated in the relation between these orientations and behavior. Behavioral intentions are modeled as the sum across values of the strength of a value times the strength of beliefs about the consequences of environmental conditions for valued objects. Evidence from a survey of 349 college students shows that beliefs about consequences for each type of valued object independently predict willingness to take political action, but only beliefs about consequences for self reliably predict willingness to pay through taxes. This result is consistent with other recent findings from contingent valuation surveys. Women have stronger beliefs than men about consequences for self, others, and the...

The aim of this study was to analyse the frozen food demand among consumers in Izmir, one of the three biggest provinces in Turkey. The study used a questionnaire survey of 271 randomly selected consumers; data was collected between December 2006 and February 2007. Heckman models were used for demand estimates. From demand estimates, price elasticity was found to be-0.53 for potatoes,-0.49 for peas,-0.28 for green beans,-0.80 for strawberries and-0.69 for cherries. The study calculated price premium that consumers would be willing to pay for consuming frozen food. It was found that consumers would pay an 82 % price premium for frozen peas; 108 % for frozen strawberries; and 130% for frozen cherries. It was found that consumers were not willing to pay a price premium for frozen potatoes or frozen green beans.

Recreation is one of the ecosystem's secondary values of a well conserved natural ecosystem, associated with the direct use individuals make of these natural assets. In this paper we define and estimate the total economic recreation value to visitors of a particular natural area, a national park. An on-site individual observation Travel Cost Model, Count Data distributions, and a version of hyperbolic discounting framework distribution were used to estimate a measure for the present recreation use of the site and the total discounted recreation value for a 50 years period. The empirical estimates of the average representative visitor's present equivalent surplus willingness to pay, based on the impact assumption of closure or loss of access to the park were 123 € per day per visit, and 593 € per each average five days length visit, per visitor. These values suggest that recreation use of nature has a higher value than certain economic activities in the area.

In this paper, we examine for a sample of Los Angeles residents their willingness to pay to prevent significant climate change. We employ a frac- tional factorial design in which various climate change sce narios differing in ways consistent with existing variation in climate are pres ented to respon- dents. These are contrasted to respondents' current climat e before willing-

Choice models are used frequently in marketing to help management make better or more
informed product and pricing decisions.
The most common statistical model for choice studies is the multinomial logit with
heterogeneity via Hierarchical Bayes (HB). The standard approach is to model main effects
for each attribute, but interactions between attributes are also possible. Recently, a company
that produces choice modeling software has introduced an automated interaction search
feature creating additional buzz for interactions in choice studies.
More needs to be known about interactions in the presence of heterogeneity before
applying feature interactions willy-nilly.
Here we propose a method for testing interaction terms with a special look at
brand-price interactions (equivalent to brand-specific price effects) that are often
recommended in practice.
We show that brand-specific pricing is unnecessary when using HB estimation and the
added terms can lead to devastating model overfit.
We provide a general framework for testing interactions. The step-by-step process can
be used without a set of dedicated holdout tasks or sample. When evaluating interactions
and model specifications more generally, overfit as well as managerial inferences should both
be evaluated.

A contingent valuation study involving a quasi-experimental design was undertaken to measure motorists self and perceived others' willingness to pay (WTP) for improvements to the paved road surface. The three benefits considered were: (1) improved fuel efficiency, (2) reduced interior noise and (3) reduced stopping distance in wet conditions. To assess the perceived relative importance of the improvements, 1200 motorists received one of eighteen versions of a questionnaire outlining a road surface scenario with different levels of the benefits within a 3 • 2 • 3 factorial design. It was found that motorists were willing to pay for improved fuel efficiency and reduced interior vehicle noise. However, motorists showed no significant WTP for a reduction in vehicle stopping distance. No systematic bias is detected in perceptions of self-other WTP for road surface improvements and perceived other WTP presents the same pattern of results. These findings are contrasted with the finding for a preference for Government to spend additional petrol taxation on safety benefits. The explanation for the absence of a positive WTP for reduced stopping distance is discussed along with the importance of recognising that motorists' preference for improved safety benefits need not translate into a positive WTP.

A study was conducted to survey the residents of Bombay and elicit their willingness to pay for the maintainance and preservation of Borivli National Park (BNP) using the Contingent Valuation (CV) method. The CV method has come under considerable criticism on account of biases that are either inherent to, or generated by the survey process. The present study acknowledges those, and adopts techniques to either circumvent or then minimise them.

We review the measurement of product attribute importance, and find little consensus in definition or measurement methods. We compare four measurement methods: 1) two direct methods whereby respondents report the importance of attributes using best-worst scaling or constant sum scales, and 2) two indirect methods derived from discrete choice experiments. Our comparisons rely on previous findings that choice experiments are externally valid to use as the standard. We find high agreement within direct or indirect methods, but less agreement between direct and indirect methods. Our results also demonstrate that inferences derived from indirect measures appear to be susceptible to context effects related to the particular attributes a researcher chooses to investigate. We discuss implications for current and future research. (J.J. Louviere), [email protected] (T. Islam). 1 Tel.: +61 2 9514 3993; fax: +61 2 9514 3535.

Consumers currently tend to rely more and more on extrinsic cues and credence characteristics, including process characteristics (e.g. the way animals are raised), to form their expectations about animal-based food products. This review shows that if expectations are negatively disconfirmed, the hedonic ratings and consumer willingness to pay move towards the expectations induced by information on animal welfare according to the sensitivity of different groups of consumers. The combination of reliable animal welfare monitoring and effective labelling of animal-based products may then help meeting the increasing demand for animal welfare-friendly products while sustaining the welfare of the animals.

Although money-back guarantees (MBGs) have a long tradition in marketing and retailing practice, a deeper understanding of how consumers value this instrument is still lacking. The results of two experimental studies show that in addition to cognitive effects, MBGs evoke a positive emotional response, thereby increasing consumers' purchase intentions and willingness to pay a price premium. Moreover, MBGs positively affect consumers' responses for search and experience goods, although for experience goods, MBGs should be designed with stricter return conditions as compared to MBGs for search goods. The results should help retail managers understand the consumer impact of MBGs, as well as assist them in pricing guaranteed items and designing effective MBGs according to the type of product.

This paper examines the equality of utilization for equal need and equity of out-of-pocket expenditure for health services in a large urban area in Thailand. Data from a household health interview survey were used to explore patterns of perceived morbidity, utilization of various treatment sources, and out-of-pocket payment. Financial access to health care, as reflected in medical benefit/ insurance cover, appeared to influence reported illness and hospitalization rates. Gross lack of access to health care amongst lower socio-economic groups was not the main problem in this densely populated urban area because people could choose and use alternative health services according to their ability and willingness to pay. The corollary, however, was an inequitable pattern of out-of-pocket health expenditure by income quintile and per capita. The underprivileged were more likely to pay out of their own pocket for their health problems, and to pay out of proportion to their household income when compared with more privileged groups. Furthermore, the underprivileged were least likely to be covered by government health benefit schemes, in contrast in particular to civil servants, who paid less out of pocket and did not contribute to their medical benefit fund. The private health sector (private clinics and private hospitals) was the major provider of health care to urban dwellers for both outpatient and inpatient services. Policy options for the short and long term to improve the equity of payment systems for health care are discussed. (© 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

This paper presents a contingent valuation study concerning landscape impacts generated by the construction of one dam (Baker 1) of the HIDROAYSEN hydropower project located in the Chilean Patagonia. A survey was used to collect information about citizens’ opinions towards the hydropower project in four major cities in Chile. Specifically, a One-and-One-Half-Bound (OOHB) willingness to pay eliciting format was applied to capture citizens’ WTP. The economic loss, associated to the landscape impacts for people living in urban areas of the country, is found to be approximately US$ 205 million, which is nearly 28% of the total investment. Our results also show that the cities’ distance from the dam affects citizens’ willingness to pay.

Until recently, the majority of commercial forestry in the UK has comprised blanket planting of non-native coniferous species which typically do not offer a high level of biodiversity. However, the UK government, and consequently the UK Forestry Commission, are committed under various international agreements to conserve and enhance biodiversity in British forests. The study reported in this paper estimates that substantial non-use values would be generated if the Forestry Commission were to continue in its current efforts to develop management practices that promote an increase in biodiversity across a large area of its commercial holdings in remote parts of the country which are seldom visited. Rather than adopting a referendum-type contingent valuation method, a discrete-choice contingent ranking approach is used to estimate the general public's willingness to pay to increase the area of these forests managed under each of three forest management standards designed to offer increasing levels of biodiversity at the expense of commercial timber production. This permits relative preferences for different forest management standards to be measured at the same time as willingness to pay to enhance biodiversity.

The value of road safety is the fundamental input in social cost-benefit analysis of road safety schemes. It is also an increasingly important input in the social evaluation of almost any transport infrastructure project. This value is given by the amount that people are willing to pay for reducing the risk of a becoming a fatal victim or of suffering a serious injury. Traditionally, road safety willingness-to-pay has been estimated by means of contingent valuation and other surveys without making explicit reference to a particular travel demand context. The paper advocates the use of stated choice techniques that allow one to recreate the context of a particular trip customized to the respondent's past experience. For this and other reasons, it is argued that the proposed method is clearly superior to previous methods for estimating people's willingness-to-pay for improved road safety. The paper also provides a summary of the Chilean experience on road safety valuation using stated choice techniques; and it concludes by showing the importance of conducting local studies to elicit people's willingness to pay for safety.

Success of eco-labeling schemes, broadly defined, varies among products and across countries. Based on a simple theoretical framework, we show that the nature of environmental attributes among products (i.e., private versus public) and the consumer type (i.e., egoist versus altruist) shape the overall performance of such schemes. In addition, we demonstrate that altruistic consumers exhibiting a too high willingness to pay for the eco-labeled product can inadvertently prevent egoistic consumers from purchasing it, leading to a sub-optimal outcome in terms of environmental performance. Several policy and managerial implications are drawn.

Prior research on the monetary costs of criminal careers has neglected to focus on homicide offenders and tended to minimize the public costs associated with crime. Drawing on expanded monetization estimates produced by Cohen and Piquero, this study assessed the monetary costs for five crimes (murder, rape, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and burglary) imposed by a sample of (n ¼ 654) convicted and incarcerated murderers. The average cost per murder exceeded $17.25 million and the average murderer in the current sample posed costs approaching $24 million. The most violent and prolific offenders singly produced costs greater than $150-160 million in terms of victim costs, criminal justice costs, lost offender productivity, and public willingness-to-pay costs.

This paper presents the first attempt to estimate the benefits of reducing crime using the contingent-valuation (CV) method. We focus on gun violence, a crime of growing policy concern in America. Our data come from a national survey in which we ask respondents referendum-type questions that elicit their willingness-to-pay (WTP) to reduce gun violence by 30 percent. We estimate that the public's WTP to reduce gun violence by 30 percent equals $23.8 billion, or $750,000 per injury. Our estimate implies a statistical value of life ($4.05 to $6.25 million) that is quite consistent with those derived from other methods.

This paper presents the results of a dichotomous choice contingent valuation (CV) study of flood control policy in Bangladesh. The application of CV studies in the domain of flood exposure and flood control, where people are asked to trade-off money income in terms of willingness to pay (WTP), the risk of flooding and corresponding impacts on their life and livelihood, is rare. The use of CV in developing countries furthermore faces the challenge of significant income constraints, limiting the applicability of the method. ...

People's greater willingness to help identified victims, relative to non-identified ones, was examined by eliciting real contributions to targets varying in singularity (a single individual vs. a group of several individuals), and the availability of individually identifying information (the main ...

Does simply believing that a processed food is organic improve how enjoyable it tastes, influence caloric estimations, or increase how much people are willing to pay for the item? In the present study, 115 participants recruited from a local shopping mall were asked to taste and evaluate three paired food samples (i.e., cookies, potato chips, and yogurt). Each of those food samples was labeled, specifying one of the items in the pair as 'organic' and the other label specifying its counterpart as 'regular', although they were identical and organically produced. Results found that participants estimated those foods with organic labels to be lower in calories than those without the organic label. Furthermore, foods with the organic label elicited a higher willingness-to-pay and yielded better nutritional evaluations (e.g., tastes lower in fat, higher in fiber) than foods without the organic label. Finally, results found that the effects of the organic label on caloric estimations were less pronounced among people who typically read nutritional labels, who often buy organic foods, and who often engage in pro-environmental activities. This underscores the idea that the health halo effect is primarily driven by automatic processing based on heuristics. Understanding how consumers use nutritional information on product labels has important implications for both public policy as well as processed food manufacturers who use such claims as tools to market their products.

This paper assesses consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for organic chicken using a choice experiment. Specifically, we examined consumers' WTP for a general organic label and a USDA certified organic label on chicken breast. Our results indicate that consumers are willing to pay a premium of 1.193$/lb (34.8%) for the general organic label and 3.545 $/lb (103.5%) for the USDA organic label. WTP also differs between demographic groups as well as between different types of consumers based on the purchase frequency of organic meat products. The WTP premium for a general/USDA organic label was lowest for the nonbuyers (À29.6% and 26.2%), followed by the occasional buyers (35.7% and 97.3%). The habitual buyers were willing to spend a premium of 146.6% for general and 244.3% for USDA certified organic labeled chicken breast. For all buyer types, USDA organic certification was valued more than the general organic label implying that consumers trust the USDA organic products more than a general organic label.

Using data from a 1992 survey of Maine hunters, we estimate the willingness to pay for a program that would eliminate the risk of non-participation in an otherwise lotteryrationed hunting system. We develop an empirical model to estimate the option price (OP * see and apply it to the 1992 survey. We find an estimated willingness to pay to eliminate the non-participation risk associated with the lottery system of over $400. The estimated results are compared with the results of 12 years of management experience since the survey to provide a modest ex post analysis and auction of a small number of licenses since 1998. Based on the estimates from the 1992 survey, we believe that management changes since that time would pass a benefit-cost test.

Five ecosystem services that could be restored along a 45-mile section of the Platte river were described to respondents using a building block approach developed by an interdisciplinary team. These ecosystem services were dilution of wastewater, natural purification of water, erosion control, habitat for fish and wildlife, and recreation. Households were asked a dichotomous choice willingness to pay question regarding purchasing the increase in ecosystem services through a higher water bill. Results from nearly 100 in-person interviews indicate that households would pay an average of $21 per month or $252 annually for the additional ecosystem services. Generalizing this to the households living along the river yields a value of $19 million to $70 million depending on whether those refusing to be interviewed have a zero value or not. Even the lower bound benefit estimates exceed the high estimate of water leasing costs ($1.13 million) and conservation reserve program farmland easements costs ($12.3 million) necessary to produce the increase in ecosystem services.

An important contribution to the literature on valuing Digital Culture: This study is an evaluation of Britain on Film (BoF) which offers curated film collections from the BFI National Archive and Regional and National Archives, launched in July 2015. It uses contingent valuation methods to measure the value people place on the films in BoF. We also assessed the range of values users and the general public have for BofF and the wider Unlocking Film Heritage archive programme through a contingent valuation study of around 2,500 users and non-users. This was in terms of a monthly willingness to pay a subscription/donation, and a combined annual WTP at the national level. We also tested how engagement with archive film collections is positively associated with subjective wellbeing.

Key finding: Users of the BFI's free ‘Britain on Film’ portal, which provides stories of UK life through the history of film, valued this service at over £3 a month

We develop a two-stage conceptual consumer decision model from the risk perspective to understand the role of online user reviews in consumers' Willingness-To-Pay (WTP). In stage one, consumers assess product uncertainty with product reviews. In stage two, they assess seller uncertainty with seller reviews, conditional on their assessment of product uncertainty in stage one. We further develop an operationalization of our conceptual model using the expected utility theory and derive hypotheses on the effects of online user reviews on consumers' WTP. We test our hypotheses using data from an experimental study and an empirical study.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

We experimentally test overconfidence in investment decisions by offering participants the possibility to substitute their own for alternative investment choices. Overall, 149 subjects participated in two experiments, one with just one risky asset, the other with two risky assets. Overconfidence increases (i) with the absolute deviation from optimal choices, (ii) with task complexity, and (iii) decreases with uncertainty as indicated by the difference between willingness to pay and to accept. JEL Classification: C91, D81, G11.

Faced with growing environmental problems, food safety issues, and increasing obesity rates, many consumers desire healthier, less processed natural foods that are less harmful to the environment. Yet organic foods only partially benefit from this market environment, and their market share remains quite low despite high growth rates. The usual explanation for this discrepancy is that consumers are not willing to pay the price premium prompted by an organic claim. In this paper, we explore the reasons behind consumers' (un) willingness to pay for organic food and investigate whether it differs between virtue and vice food categories. The results indicate that in vice food categories, organic claims are associated with lower quality, which seems to be only partly compensated by higher prosocial benefits. The lower-quality perceptions translate into a decreased consumer willingness to pay (WTP). We supplement the empirical results with data on organic purchases in the Dutch food market. These data show that market shares of organic food are indeed lower for vice categories of organic food.

The motivation for the present study is to understand food choice in relation to animal food production and to study how preferences are influenced by information. To do this, we carried out a choice experiment. In the analysis, we focus on chickens reared indoors and outdoors and chicken labelled campylobacter-free versus non-labelled chicken. The results suggest that there is a positive willingness to pay (WTP) both for chicken reared outdoors and for campylobacter-free labelled chicken. Information about rearing methods resulted in a higher WTP for chicken reared outdoors, while information about campylobacter had both positive and negative effects on respondents’ WTP. The highest increase in WTP for campylobacter-free labelled chicken was found for one of the high risk groups, individuals with poor kitchen hygiene.

To ensure the acceptability of community-based insurance (CBI) by the community and its sustainability, a feasibility study of CBI was conducted in Burkina Faso, including preference for benefit package of CBI, costing of health services, costing of the benefit package and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the package. Qualitative methods were used to collect information about preferences for the benefit package. Cost per unit health services, health demand obtained from household survey and physician-judged health needs were used to estimate the cost of the benefit package. The bidding game method was used to elicit household head's WTP for the package. We found that there were strong preferences for inclusion of high-cost health services such as operation, essential drugs and consultation fees in the benefit package. It is estimated that the cost of the package per capita was 1673 CFA (demand-based) and 9630 CFA (need-based), including 58% government subsidies ( 1 = 655 CFA). The average household head with eight household members agreed to pay from 7500 (median) to 9769 CFA (mean) to join the CBI for his/her household. The WTP results were influenced by household characteristics, such as location, household size and age composition. Under certain assumptions (household as the enrolment unit, median household head's WTP as premium for the average household, 50% enrolment rate), it would be feasible to run CBI in Nouna, Burkina Faso if enrolees' health demand did not increase by more than 28% or if the underwriting of the initial losses was covered by extra funds.

Land reclamation of derelict landscapes, until in recent times, was a rare experience, especially in developing countries. This has however changed with the adoption of environmental policies and legislative frameworks in most countries in the world. This drive was mainly inspired by the conservation strategies developed and promoted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This article is a presentation of the findings and observations that led to successful land reclamation by the cement factory. Steps taken for this reclamation effort were of prime interest to the author and were retraced resulting in this position paper. A comparative approach is used, given the conventional methods that most projects of this nature employ. Most of the environmental and land degradation are caused by profit motivated industries who do nothing or very little to repair the damage caused in the course of their work. The Haller Park at the Bamburi cemen...

Commercial, nonthermal processing of food, such as high hydrostatic-pressure processing (HPP), has increased. The safety and quality of foods produced by HPP has not been well communicated to the public. An online, nationwide consumer survey was implemented to assess awareness of alternative food processing technologies, consumer food safety attitudes and knowledge, and willingness to pay (WTP) for HPP products. The consumer survey was administered by Zoomerang TM , an online survey clearinghouse. The survey was completed by 1204 adults. Frequencies and crosstabs were calculated on Zoomerang and SPSS used for one-way ANOVA and chi-square analyses. The survey assessed knowledge of HPP, attitudes about new food processing techniques, WTP for HPP foods and demographics. Overall, many demographic characteristics reflected U.S. census population. While traditional methods, that is, canning, freezing, and microwaving were all well recognized by over 80% of respondents, only 8% recognized HPP. Trends indicated an increase in age, education, and income reflected greater food safety knowledge. Regardless of demographics, no survey respondent exhibited knowledge mastery (80%). Given an explanation of HPP and its benefits, 39% of respondents indicated they would be WTP an additional cost, with higher income and education having the most impact. Majority of respondents indicated a WTP of $0.25 to $0.50 regardless of the value of the food product. More respondents were WTP slightly more for a more expensive product. New technologies often encounter a stumbling block in consumer acceptance and processing costs. A consumer's WTP, once they were informed, could encourage industry to look favorably on this technology.

A lab experiment was conducted in France to evaluate the impact of health information on consumers' choices for functional food. Successive messages revealing benefits and uncertainties of consuming yoghurts with added plant sterols for reducing cholesterol were delivered. Results show a significant and positive influence of the message linked to the cholesterol reduction on willingness to pay, even for participants without cholesterol. However participants expressed little interest in information about potential risks and scientific uncertainties, since their impacts on willingness to pay are not always statistically significant. An econometric estimation shows a significant link between the change in willingness to pay and the perception by participants regarding the scientific validity linked to the sterols. (S. Marette). 1 The experiment uses a classical BDM mechanism (introduced by Becker et al, 1964) and a BMS mechanism (introduced by , namely a choice mechanism between two substitutes allowing WTP elicitation. Under the BDM mechanism, participants had to indicate WTP for an enriched yoghurt with cholesterol-lowering properties. Under the BMS mechanism, participants had to choose between a plain yoghurt from the same brand and the enriched yoghurt with cholesterol-lowering properties. Results show that, except for the first round of choices, the BMS and the BDM mechanisms lead to similar results, which contributes to the literature since no paper has directly compared these mechanisms.

There is an increasing body of contingent valuation (CV) studies applied to cultural heritage sites. These CV studies assess the social benefits of cultural resources, but few provide advice on the policy use of the results and the ways these benefits could be captured and used to improve the condition of the sites. This study attempts to do exactly this by conducting a CV survey of a preservation program for a World Heritage site, and using the estimated benefits for visitors to assess optimal entrance fees that maximize revenues for the site. We also perform a cost-benefit analysis of the preservation project, and show how the outcome can be used to justify investments in cultural heritage preservation.

Protected areas are under increasing pressure to provide economic justification for their existence, particularly in developing countries where demand for land and natural resources is high. Nature-based tourism offers a mechanism to generate substantial benefits from protected areas for both governments and local communities, and ecotourism is increasingly promoted as a sustainable use of protected areas. The extent to which ecotourism offsets the costs of a protected area has rarely been examined. We used financial data from Komodo National Park, Indonesia, and a willingness-to-pay questionnaire of independent visitors to (1) examine the financial contribution of tourism in offsetting the costs of tourism and wider management and (2) assess the effect of hypothetical fee increases on park revenues, visitation patterns, and local economies. Although only 6.9% of park management costs were recovered, visitors were willing to pay over 10 times the current entrance fee, indicating a substantial potential for increased revenue. The potential negative effect of large fee increases on visitor numbers and the resultant effect on local economic benefits from tourism may limit the extent to which greater financial benefits from Komodo National Park (KNP) can be realized. Our results suggest that a moderate, tiered increase in entrance fees is most appropriate, and that partial revenue retention by KNP would help demonstrate the conservation value of tourism to both visitors and managers and has the potential to increase visitors' willingness to pay.

Some sectors of the forest products industry have adopted environmental certification and labeling as a business strategy. Typically, the designation of these products is through the use of eco-seals (environmental 'seals-of-approval'). For these programs to be effective, consumers must first care about the disclosed information. We find consumers are willing to pay for these products but changes in labeling policy affects their willingness to pay. Thus, there appears to be a demand for environmentally certified forest products, however, the current use of ecoseals may preclude the collection of an actual premium.