The objective of the thesis is - with the aid of cost benefit analysis - evaluate economic impacts of planned amendment to Regulation of the Government No. 148/2006 Coll. On Health Protection from Adverse Effects of Noise and Vibration, namely based on the case of specific road track. Amendment to Regulation is aimed at making existing noise limits softer (to increase them) and thus to bring about savings in investment cost connected with anti-noise measures. The thesis intends to use a single case study to find out whether benefits resulting from price reduction in the process of road construction are higher than costs in the form of decrease of welfare caused by the higher noise exposition; alternatively at what period savings in costs connected with road construction equal to decrease in welfare (savings in costs are one-off, while increase in noise exposition and related drop in welfare are long-term). Estimated changes in welfare are based on analysis of secondary sources -- first of all on the study of traffic externalities in the Czech republic conducted by contingent valuation method. The actual core of the thesis is cost benefit analysis. Attention is paid also to broader discussion on experience in providing exceptions from noise limits in the Czech Republic.

The first essay developed a respondent model of Bayesian updating for a double-bound dichotomous choice (DB-DC) contingent valuation methodology. I demonstrated by way of data simulations that current DB-DC identifications of true willingness-to-pay (WTP) may often fail given this respondent Bayesian updating context. Further simulations demonstrated that a simple extension of current DB-DC identifications derived explicitly from the Bayesian updating behavioral model can correct for much of the WTP bias. Additional results provided caution to viewing respondents as acting strategically toward the second bid. Finally, an empirical application confirmed the simulation outcomes. The second essay applied a hedonic property value model to a unique water quality (WQ) dataset for a year-round, urban, and coastal housing market in South Florida, and found evidence that various WQ measures affect waterfront housing prices in this setting. However, the results indicated that this relationship is not consistent across any of the six particular WQ variables used, and is furthermore dependent upon the specific descriptive statistic employed to represent the WQ measure in the empirical analysis. These results continue to underscore the need to better understand both the WQ measure and its statistical form homebuyers use in making their purchase decision. The third essay addressed a limitation to existing hurricane evacuation modeling aspects by developing a dynamic model of hurricane evacuation behavior. A household’s evacuation decision was framed as an optimal stopping problem where every potential evacuation time period prior to the actual hurricane landfall, the household’s optimal choice is to either evacuate, or to wait one more time period for a revised hurricane forecast. A hypothetical two-period model of evacuation and a realistic multi-period model of evacuation that incorporates actual forecast and evacuation cost data for my designated Gulf of Mexico region were developed for the dynamic analysis. Results from the multi-period model were calibrated with existing evacuation timing data from a number of hurricanes. Given the calibrated dynamic framework, a number of policy questions that plausibly affect the timing of household evacuations were analyzed, and a deeper understanding of existing empirical outcomes in regard to the timing of the evacuation decision was achieved.

This study uses the double-bounded bid elicitation format to estimate how much households in the Khalong-la-Lithunya wetland area (KWA) would be WTP (on top of monthly water bills) for wetland resource conservation, and test whether WTP significantly varies with the institution responsible for its conservation management. KWA was purposely selected on account of the critically important role it plays in securing water provisioning ecosystem services; a role that is currently threatened by proximate and ultimate factors hypothesised to be driven by its unrecognised economic value. WTP was thus elicited and compared when the governance institution was (i) the Ministry of Natural Resources, and (ii) a private environmental conservation agency that is currently active in Lesotho i.e. the Transformation Resource Centre (TRC). Purposive and simple random sampling methods were used to collect survey data from 204 households. Results show that respondents have high levels of factual knowledge about the threats to the sustainability of KWA. They also have attitudes, opinions, and perceptions that are receptive to a policy that improves the status quo. Mean WTP was M78.80 per household per month (UB M92.89 and LB M38.21) when the Ministry of Natural Resources was responsible for conservation management in KWA (equivalent to M 0.011 per litre or M0.21 per 20 litre jerry can), and M83.09 per household per month (UB M98.00 and LB M32.94) when TRC was responsible for conservation management in KWA (equivalent to M0.011 per litre or M0.22 per 20 litre jerry can). The null hypothesis of equality of the two mean WTP values was rejected at the 1 % level (t= 4.34 and p = 0.000), suggesting that institution responsible for conservation management in KWA significantly influences households' WTP. Double bounded models differentiated by institution responsible for conservation management in KWA were used to econometrically determine factors that influence households' WTP. Results show that WTP was positively related to the following variables: income, age, education, whether households had experienced seasonal water shortages, knowledge of health risks associated with water shortages, and gender (males had higher WTP). WTP was found to be negatively related to household size (the more the household members, the lower the WTP). These results were consistent with prior expectation and literature. Considering, also, that this study further used secondary sources to estimate that households, on average, spend about M300 per month on water (equivalent to M0.04 per litre or 0.80 per 20 litre jerry can), three key recommendations follow. First, subject to extensive stakeholder consultations, the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) of Lesotho should consider adding to the regular charge a resource conservation tax amounting to at least M0.011 per litre of water delivered to customers, i.e. instead of charging M0.04 per litre of water delivered, WASA should charge customers at least M0.051 per litre of water delivered. Second, WASA should consider instituting a policy that isolates the conservation charge from the M0.51 per litre, and explicitly invest it in mitigating the resource conservation challenges in KWA (i.e. the charge should be used to support activities that secure the sustainable water provisioning ecosystem services from KWA). Finally, WASA should consider engaging TRC directly in converting the proceeds from the conservation charge to tangible resource conservation outcomes in KWA, given that households expressed higher WTP when TRC was responsible for its conservation management. / Dissertation (MSc (Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / MSc (Agric) / Unrestricted

Yangtze finless porpoises (YFPs) are the only fresh-water adapted porpoises in the world and they are endemic to Yangtze River system, including Poyang Lake. They are threatened by many factors, such as illegal fishing and overfishing, sand dredging, intensive shipping traffic, and pollution from agriculture and industry. Consequently, their population is decreasing at a great rate and they are listed as an endangered rare species on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 1996. Moreover, a hydroelectricity project in Poyang Lake is in planning by the state of Jiangxi province, which will generate further serious threats to YFPs by cutting off their migration route and fragmenting their habitat. Therefore, it is very urgent to take some protection measures for YFPs. A special nature reserve is one possibility to protect YFPs, such as a nature reserve area, which is located in Poyang Lake. In order to find out whether a nature reserve is worthwhile, an economic analysis valuing the benefit of YFPs has been conducted. An appropriate method, the contingent valuation approach, has been chosen. The overall aim of such a contingent valuation study is to estimate the total benefits of YFPs by asking individuals’ willingness to pay for the porpoise conservation project. Because many people are unfamiliar with YFPs and the species’ total values consist of mainly non-use values, preference construction and estimating a demand function is a complex task. Therefore, the valuation workshop method, a group-based approach, which can make respondents motivated and well-informed so that they thoroughly consider the questions, provides a realistic decision-making environment. This method was selected to help respondents construct their preference. Within this study, a series of such valuation workshops were successfully organized and data and information were collected. The findings of the study have both methodological and policy-related implications. From the perspective of methodology, the important findings include: 1) Valid response rates are high enough to support further analysis and large mean WTP for porpoise conservation are obtained. Therefore, it can be concluded that the valuation workshop method as has been chosen in this study, is suitable for valuing porpoise conservation. The valuation workshop method can make people well informed about environmental goods and services, such as rare species, so that they can build their preference about them, which is quite a complex task for many individuals. IV 2) Distance effects are verified to fail to work on willingness to pay (WTP) for porpoise conservation, which is mostly driven by non-use values. Therefore, distance need not be included in the aggregation analysis of total benefits of YFPs. Similarly, the market for conservation of YFPs can be defined as the nation of China. And the sampling frame of such an evaluation of a rare species can be all the Chinese population. 3) Income effects are confirmed to be significantly influential for both Chinese respondents and German respondents. Hence, the aggregation of total values of YFPs should consider about individuals’ income levels and their ability to pay (ATP). It is inferred from the fact of smaller mean WTP in China as compared with Germany that some low-income respondents’ WTP bids are possibly distorted by their ATP, which needs further confirmation in follow-up research. In addition, there are also some policy-related implications, which are closely related with the mentioned methodological aspect: The total economic values of porpoise conservation are predicted to be appreciably huge. Definitely, their total benefits should be taken into account by politicians and decision-makers. This study makes explicit people’s attitudes and preference on the trade-off between economic growth and ecological use. The establishment of a special nature reserve for YFPs is still an open question.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第19977号 / 工博第4221号 / 新制||工||1653(附属図書館) / 33073 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科社会基盤工学専攻 / (主査)教授 川﨑 雅史, 教授 中川 大, 准教授 久保田 善明 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

Open space provides a wide range of ecosystem services to communities. In growing communities, open space offers relief from congestion and other negative externalities associated with rapid development. To make effective policy and planning decisions pertaining to open space preservation, it is important to estimate monetary values of its benefits. In addition, assessing public opinions regarding open space provides information on demand and how residents value open space. This study estimated the monetary value of open space in Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast communities. The study also collected information on coastal residents’ attitudes towards open space, working waterfronts, and their willingness to support waterfront open space preservation monetarily. Two methodological approaches were employed to estimate the monetary value of waterfront open space: contingent valuation (CVM) and hedonic price (HPM) methods. Data were collected using a mail survey, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), and publicly available data sources such as the U.S. Census. Data were analyzed using an interval regression, ordinary least squares, and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models. Mail survey results indicated that the majority of residents valued open space and were willing to pay from $80.52 to $162.14 per household as estimated by four different interval-censored econometric models. Respondent’s membership in groups promoting conservation goals, income, age, and residence duration were major factors associated with their willingness to pay. Results from the HPM indicated proximities to waterfronts, with the exception of bayous, were positively related to home prices, suggesting open space produced positive economic benefits. Findings from the HPM analysis using publicly available data were consistent and comparable with the results from the HPM that used MLS data. This similarity of results indicates the use of publicly available data is feasible in HPM analysis, which is important for broad applications of the method during city planning. In addition, GWR estimates provided site specific monetary values of waterfront open space benefits, which will be helpful for policymakers and city planners in developing site-specific conservation and preservation strategies. Findings can help formulate future decisions related to alternative development scenarios of coastal areas and conservation efforts to preserve open space.

Hypothetical bias continues to be a challenge for practitioners of the contingent valuation method (CVM). This study compared the effect of three hypothetical bias mitigation techniques in a CVM survey focused on estimating maximum willingness to pay for a beach conditions monitoring service among U.S. Gulf Coast beachgoers. Beach conditions information is known to affect beach patronage but no valuation study has yet estimated its value. The two techniques tested are: budget and substitutes cheap talk treatments and certainty follow-up. We presented a theoretically consistent model of budget-constrained utility maximization which accounts for the respondents’ subjective probability of a good beach trip with and without the beach conditions information. Interval regression was used to estimate respondents WTP for beach conditions monitoring service. Both mitigation treatments were unable to mitigate HB. The mean WTP was $3.39 and the net benefit for the program was between $188,531,063 and $391,474,452.

Flygresor utrikes har ökat markant sedan 1990. För att begränsa utsläppen av växthusgaser kan andra transportmedel som tåg vara väsentliga för att ersätta flyg. Emellertid har ofta tågresor en längre restid och ett högre biljettpris. En effektiv åtgärd för att jämna ut prisförhållandet mellan flygresor och andra transportmedel kan vara genom koldioxidskatter. Studien ska ge en uppfattning om studenters betalningsvilja för en koldioxidskatt, eftersom det finns en forskningslucka för det området, samt att det finns en kontrovers om villigheten att stödja miljöbeskattning. Syftet är att förbättrade policys ska kunna utvecklas utifrån studenters åsikter och tankar kring betalningsvilja och koldioxidskatter. Syftet är även att undersöka vilket sambandet är mellan betalningsvilja och upplevd kunskap och attityd till miljön. Studien är utförd genom Contingent valuation method där studenter ställs inför en hypotetisk resa för att kunna undersöka deras betalningsvilja, priskänslighet vid prisökningar, samt skäl och drivkrafter för valet av transportmedel. Resultatet från studien visar att respondenternas betalningsvilja är hög och att det finns en villighet att betala för en koldioxidskatt. Resultat indikerar att det finns ett samband mellan stor kunskap om klimatförändringar och hög betalningsvilja. Generellt sett visar sig samtliga respondenter ha en miljövänlig attityd men inget samband till betalningsviljan kan identifieras. / Air travel abroad has increased significantly since 1990. In order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from flights, other transport such as trains could be an essential alternative. However, train travels often mean longer travel time and a more expensive ticket price. An effective measure to even the price ratio between flights and other transport could be through carbon taxes. The study should provide a perception of students' willingness to pay since this area has shown a research gap. Also, there is a controversy of people's willingness to support environmental taxation. The study seeks to look into students' opinions and thoughts regarding willingness to pay and a carbon tax so improved policies could be developed. The purpose was also to study how willingness to pay for a carbon tax relates to an experienced state of knowledge of climate changes and attitude towards the environment. The study was performed with the Contingent valuation method where students were faced with a hypothetical trip, in order to examine their willingness to pay, price sensitivity when price increases, also reasons and driving forces for the choice of means of transport. The results show that the respondent’s willingness to pay is high and that there is a willingness to pay for a carbon tax. The results also indicate a relation between high knowledge of climate changes and high willingness to pay. In general, all respondents reveal an environmentally friendly attitude, however it does not show a connection to their willingness to pay.

The objective of this study is to estimate the willingness to pay of U.S. Gulf Coast residents to support oyster reef restoration. The Gulf Coast is the leading commercial oyster- producing region in the United States, accounting for approximately 46% of the total commercial oyster harvest in 2021. My benefit estimates were based on data obtained from a contingent valuation survey of 6,475 Gulf Coast respondents. I estimated the willingness to pay (WTP) for oyster reef restoration using interval regression and Turnbull lower-bound methods. The estimated mean WTP value is in the range of $142 and $436 per household. The results show respondents who eat oysters and those that hold saltwater fishing licenses have significantly higher WTP.

The objective of this study was to estimate willingness-to-pay the population in Luleå is putting on the possibility to do recreation and outdoor life activities in an urban forest. The study has been limited to the area Ormberget-Herstölandet. A contingent valuation method has been applied which asks about willingness-to-pay to conserve current recreational activities by assuming other plans for the area. A total of 151 answers were received, of which 111 was used for the analysis. This study found that willingness-to-pay for recreation was estimated to be 173 SEK per person and as one-time-payment. Total estimated value for Luleå population was 13,500,000 SEK. Willingness-to-pay was positively influenced by the number of visits, time spent, income and preferences for cross-country skiing. Negatively influenced if the respondents are male and have high environmental concern.