Bakgrund: För att ge vägledning till hur samhället skall värdera nutida effekter gentemotframtida, exempelvis att rädda liv eller fördela samhälleliga investeringar, har ekonomergenomfört stated preference-studier med syfte att undersöka individers samhälleligatidspreferenser. Studiernas resultat har producerat en stor variation kring hur individervärderar framtida utfall jämfört med nutida. Resultaten har dock tolkats som att individer,även om tidspreferenserna varierar i storlek, värderar framtida utfall lägre än nutida. ShaneFrederick genomförde 1999 en studie, som Frederick benämnde som ett ”robusthetstest” avden dittills använda metodiken, där han i motsats till tidigare studier inte bara erbjödrespondenterna ett nutida utfall jämfört med ett framtida, utan även erbjöd respondenternaolika sekventiella fördelningar över tid. Resultaten kontrasterade tydligt tidigare studiersresultat, respondenterna föredrog exempelvis att rädda liv fördelat på tre generationer iställetför endast i deras egen – vilket indikerade att respondenterna hade negativa tidspreferenser!Inga uppföljningsstudier har därefter genomförts.Syfte: Att undersöka individers samhälleliga tidspreferenser när de erbjuds sekventiellafördelningar över tid.Metod: Två enkätundersökningar genomfördes vid Linköpings universitet. Respondenternaställdes inför olika sekventiella fördelningar för räddandet av liv och samhälleligaupprustningar, såväl i ett intra- som ett intergenerationsperspektiv.Slutsats: Vi finner ej stöd för att en majoritet av individerna värderar framtida samhälleligaupprustningar eller att rädda framtida liv, lägre än nutida. Vi finner heller ej stöd för attindividers tidspreferenser endast innefattar en preferens för den tidshorisontella absolutafördelningen (nutid gentemot framtid). I både ett intra- och ett intergenerationsperspektivföredrog den största andelen av respondenterna en jämn fördelning över tid. I ettintragenerationsperspektiv, där vi erbjöd individerna olika sekventiella fördelningar över tid,påverkades respondenternas val av den relativa fördelningen över tid. Alla resultatuppvisades för både räddandet av liv och samhälleliga upprustningar. / Background: To give guidance for societal policy decisions on how to value future effectscompared to present, economists have used stated preference methodology to measureindividuals’ societal time preferences. The results have produced a great variety in the size ofindividuals’ time preferences, but have in general at least concluded that individuals valuefuture effects less then present. Shane Frederick performed in 1999 what he called a “test ofrobustness” of the methodology used in previous studies. Instead of just offering individualsto choose from an outcome today towards an outcome x years from now, he also offeredrespondents outcomes sequentially spread out across time. The results contradicted those ofprevious studies. For example 80% of the respondents preferred to save 300 lives across 3generations instead of 300 in their own – which implied negative time preferences! Nofurther follow up studies have been performed.Objective: Investigate individuals’ societal time preferences, when they are offeredsequential outcomes over time.Methodology: Two questionnaires where handed out at Linköpings university. Therespondents where offered different sequential outcomes over time for saving lives and whenpublic investments should occur, in as well an intra- as an intergenerational perspective.Conclusion: Our findings do not indicate that a majority of the individuals value savingfuture lives less then present lives, or that they value future public investments less thenfuture investments. Neither do they indicate that individuals’ societal time preferences onlyincorporate the absolute time horizontal aspect. In both an intra- and an intergenerationalperspective the largest fraction of the individuals preferred an equal distribution over time. Inan intragenerational perspective, where we offered individuals different sequentialdistributions, the individuals choice where affected by the relative distribution over time. Allfindings where present both for saving lives and public investments.

Recent medical studies have led cardiologists to revise theories regarding the cause of heart attacks. Rather than a gradual clogging of the arteries, eruption of a vulnerable plaque is thought to be the cause of approximately 75% of all heart attacks. As a result, traditional risk factors are no longer sufficient indicators of who is at risk for a heart attack. Therefore, this research investigates the willingness to pay (WTP) for a new, hypothetical detection (screening) and treatment method for vulnerable plaque. For this study, two survey instruments were developed that take advantage of the visual and interactive aspects of the Internet. Individuals report their perception of heart attack risk both prior to and after receiving new information on who cardiologists currently believe to be at risk for a heart attack. In addition, respondents are provided with information about the effectiveness and risks associated with screening and treatment. Using webbased surveys, which follow a contingent valuation format, an iterative bidding process is used to elicit the respondents WTP for either the screening or treatment method. Internet, on-line surveys are often prone to coverage bias; however, the survey valuing screening (a simple blood test) used a Knowledge Networks panel and resulted in a sample of 268 adults that is essentially representative of the general population. The survey valuing treatment (a more invasive heart catheterization procedure) was administered only to individuals with doctor-diagnosed heart problems, who are presumably more familiar with these types of medical decisions, and resulted in a sample of 295 adults. The mean for screening is $69 and the mean WTP for treatment that is 85% effective is $5,816. A two-part model is used to identify the factors that influence WTP, as well as the decision to receive the screening/treatment. The data suggests that these factors vary across genders. The data obtained for this study demonstrate construct validity; therefore, the results may provide useful information for policy analysis regarding the screening and treatment of heart attack.

<p>Problems associated with traffic, such as traffic congestionand pollution, have occurred in major urban areas in particulardue to the increased use of cars. One possible way to reducethe use of cars is to replace commuter trips by car with othermodes of transport, such as a combination of car and publictransport called Park&Ride. The aim of this thesis was tounderstand more about factors influencing the choice of modeand to find measures that could attract car drivers to Park&Ride. A stated preference survey has been conducted inorder to quantify some standard factors. The factors used inthis stated choice experiment were: security at the lot,availability of spaces at the parking lot, costs at the parkinglot and walking distances between the parking space and thestation. The results indicate that security at the Park&Ride facility is important. Both sexes assign a high value tosecure parking, but women are more willing to pay for lights atan unguarded parking lot. The results reveal that parkingfacilities, such as free parking and short distance betweenparking place and work at work, influence people’s choiceof mode. A general conclusion is that there is potential forincreasing the use of Park&Ride facilities, especiallyamong women and respondents over 30 years.</p><p><b>Key words:</b>Mode choice, valuation, traffic reduction,stated preference, factors, Park&Ride</p>

In a controlled lab experiment, we investigate hypothetical biases in the value of time by comparing stated preference (SP) and revealed preference (RP) values attached to unexpected waiting times. The SP and RP choice sets are identical in terms of design with the only difference being that the RP choices have real consequences in terms of unexpected waiting times and monetary incentives. We find a substantial hypothetical bias with the average SP value of time being only 71% of the corresponding RP value. The bias is mainly driven by participants who have scheduling constraints during the time of the unexpected wait. Scheduling constraints are taken into account to a much lesser extent in the SP setting than in the RP setting, presumably because only in the latter, the consequences of ignoring them are costly. We find evidence that this effect is stronger for persons with relatively low cognitive ability.

Recent interest in identifying and measuring health outcomes represents an advance in our understanding of how health care for individuals should be evaluated. However, the concept of health outcomes has mainly focussed on improvements in health status. Non-health outcomes of health care may also be important to patients. In this thesis, four tasks were undertaken with the aim of identifying non-health outcomes and establishing the extent of their relevance and importance to patients. First, the illness experience literature was reviewed to identify potential non-health outcomes. Seven categories of non-health outcomes were identified: information, being treated with dignity, being able to trust the health care provider, having distress recognised and supported, participating in decision making, legitimation and reassurance. Second, to gain an in-depth understanding of these concepts, topic-specific literature was reviewed and synthesised. Third, in order to confirm how relevant and important the concepts were to patients, a qualitative study was conducted with each of two different groups of health service users. Broadly, patients considered that all the non-health concepts were relevant, although the extent to which they were important varied. Fourth, to test the relative importance of the seven concepts, a Stated Preference Discrete Choice experiment in the context of general practice was conducted. This study showed that most people thought their GP demonstrated behaviour likely to result in the production of non-health outcomes. The results showed that although all the non-health outcomes were, to some extent, preferred by respondents, trust was most important, followed by legitimation and recognition of and support for emotional distress. Once again, these results point to the importance of context in the evaluation of health care from the patient's perspective. While still being perceived as positive aspects of health care, the provision of information and acting autonomously or participating in decisions about their health care were the non-health outcomes considered least important by patients

Recent interest in identifying and measuring health outcomes represents an advance in our understanding of how health care for individuals should be evaluated. However, the concept of health outcomes has mainly focussed on improvements in health status. Non-health outcomes of health care may also be important to patients. In this thesis, four tasks were undertaken with the aim of identifying non-health outcomes and establishing the extent of their relevance and importance to patients. First, the illness experience literature was reviewed to identify potential non-health outcomes. Seven categories of non-health outcomes were identified: information, being treated with dignity, being able to trust the health care provider, having distress recognised and supported, participating in decision making, legitimation and reassurance. Second, to gain an in-depth understanding of these concepts, topic-specific literature was reviewed and synthesised. Third, in order to confirm how relevant and important the concepts were to patients, a qualitative study was conducted with each of two different groups of health service users. Broadly, patients considered that all the non-health concepts were relevant, although the extent to which they were important varied. Fourth, to test the relative importance of the seven concepts, a Stated Preference Discrete Choice experiment in the context of general practice was conducted. This study showed that most people thought their GP demonstrated behaviour likely to result in the production of non-health outcomes. The results showed that although all the non-health outcomes were, to some extent, preferred by respondents, trust was most important, followed by legitimation and recognition of and support for emotional distress. Once again, these results point to the importance of context in the evaluation of health care from the patient's perspective. While still being perceived as positive aspects of health care, the provision of information and acting autonomously or participating in decisions about their health care were the non-health outcomes considered least important by patients

Problems associated with traffic, such as traffic congestionand pollution, have occurred in major urban areas in particulardue to the increased use of cars. One possible way to reducethe use of cars is to replace commuter trips by car with othermodes of transport, such as a combination of car and publictransport called Park&amp;Ride. The aim of this thesis was tounderstand more about factors influencing the choice of modeand to find measures that could attract car drivers to Park&amp;Ride. A stated preference survey has been conducted inorder to quantify some standard factors. The factors used inthis stated choice experiment were: security at the lot,availability of spaces at the parking lot, costs at the parkinglot and walking distances between the parking space and thestation. The results indicate that security at the Park&amp;Ride facility is important. Both sexes assign a high value tosecure parking, but women are more willing to pay for lights atan unguarded parking lot. The results reveal that parkingfacilities, such as free parking and short distance betweenparking place and work at work, influence people’s choiceof mode. A general conclusion is that there is potential forincreasing the use of Park&amp;Ride facilities, especiallyamong women and respondents over 30 years. Key words:Mode choice, valuation, traffic reduction,stated preference, factors, Park&amp;Ride / <p>NR 20140805</p>

No description available.

Arrow et al. (1993) issued guidelines for contingent valuation, one of which was the recommendation that valuation questions include a ‘no-answer’ option such as ‘I prefer not to vote (PNV)’ in addition to the typical ‘yes’ and ‘no’ options. However, they did not give further guidelines on what to do with such responses, and there are various opinions in the literature. The objective of this thesis was to identify factors that affect the probability of a respondent choosing the PNV option in stated preference surveys. This thesis identified a positive relationship between offered bid for the proposed environmental project and the probability of respondents choosing PNV and a negative relationship between perceived consequentiality of the survey and the probability of respondents choosing PNV. From the findings, this thesis suggests possible solutions to reduce the frequency of such responses in order to increase accuracy of welfare estimates and cost efficiency.

Stated preference and revealed preference are two commonly conducted non-market value evaluation methods which can also be applied to make evaluation of forest ecosystem. In the application of these evaluation methodologies, there always exists limitation from the data collection and empirical analysis. In the dissertation here, I extend the traditional evaluation methods with novel design or statistical analysis approaches to solve the practical problem we met in evaluation of forest ecosystem. The first and second chapters are based on stated preference methods. The first chapter employ both the mail survey and on-site survey to investigate the preference for attributes of low-impact timber harvesting programs. In the second chapter, we recruit three interest groups for on-site survey and compare their preference for the low-impact timber harvesting programs. In these first two chapters, choice modeling method is employed to elicit the respondents' preferences, and I also use bootstrap method to get robust estimation results for small sample size data. The last chapter employed revealed preference method to evaluate the economic losses from hemlock damages caused by forest pest. Three different interpolation methods are employed to scale-up the analysis from sites to states. Based on the findings of all three chapters, we can see that these survey design and statistical methods help to overcome the limitations in empirical analysis of forest ecosystem and make more robust inferences for design forest protection policies. / Ph. D.