This paper is concerned with the use of the choice experiment method for modeling the demand for snowmobiling . The Choice Experiment includes five attributes, standard, composition, length, price day card and experience along trail. The paper estimates the snowmobile owners’ preferences and the most preferred attributes, including their will-ingness to pay for a daytrip on groomed snowmobile trail. The data consists of the an-swers from 479 registered snowmobile owners, who answered two hypothetical choice questions each. Estimating using the multinominal logit model, it is found that snow-mobilers on average are willing to pay 22.5 SEK for one day of snowmobiling on a trail with quality described as skidded every 14th day. Furthermore, it is found that the WTP increases with the quality of trail grooming. The result of this paper can be used as a yardstick for snowmobile clubs wanting to develop their trail net worth, organizations and companies developing snowmobiling as a recreational activities and marketers in-terested in marketing snowmobiling as recreational activities.

Aircraft noise, for the first time in Thailand, has gained public attention as a significant environmental issue since Bangkok s Suvarnabhumi Airport opened in 2006. Residential areas around the airport are expanding rapidly while local residents are protesting about the noise from the new airport which suggests a tension between economic benefits and environmental problems at the airport. This thesis sets out to obtain valuation of aviation externalities at Suvarnabhumi airport using the stated choice method. It is the first study to obtain and compare valuations from perspectives of the polluters (Thai air passengers) and the polluted (residents) at the same airport. Furthermore, this is the first study to obtain a valuation of local impacts from aircraft operations and from air passengers. It starts by investigating perceptions and awareness of the benefits and costs of aviation activities among Suvarnabhumi s residents and passengers using focus groups and questionnaires. It then employs the stated choice method to elicit willingness-to-pay (WTP) and willingness-to-accept (WTA) values of aviation externalities. The results found that the perceived environmental problems at Suvarnabhumi airport are in line with the literature mainly involving aircraft noise and its effects. This study also found that the development of the airport and surrounding area, while creating business and employment opportunities, has also created traffic and flooding problems. In terms of air pollution from aircraft, residents concerns are confined to local impacts from aircraft. Thai air passengers were found to be more concerned with engine pollution than noise. These findings were reflected in the values obtained. Two stated choice designs were used to elicit values. The first rerouted the aircraft flight path away from residents homes thus reducing aircraft noise and pollution in the area. This design also included travel time to place of work or to the shops. The rerouting attribute was not statistically significant. However, the travel time attribute reveals that residents were willing to accept 14.23 baht a month to have their travel time to work or shopping increased by 1%. The second design was used to obtain and compare values between Suvarnabhumi s residents and air passengers. In this design, attributes for aircraft noise, local air pollution and carbon emissions were included. Residents willingness to pay to reduce aircraft noise by 1% is 104.76 baht/year whereas passengers are willing to pay less, at 70.63 baht per year. Air passengers place a higher value on local air pollution than the residents. Passengers are willing to pay 97.72 baht to reduce local pollution by 1% per year, whereas residents willingness to pay is 45.36 baht. Lastly, passengers WTP to offset carbon is 473.26 baht per flight, whereas residents carbon offset coefficient is not statistically significant. The obtained values are well within the range of existing studies on aircraft noise and carbon emission valuations. Findings from this study suggest that current mitigation measures at Suvarnabhumi airport are still inadequate. There are areas where the situation is likely to get worse given the rapid growth in aviation activities and urban development at the airport. The values from this study may be used to help form the basis of fairer and more transparent compensation system alongside an operational mitigation policy to address aviation impacts. On the passenger side, the stated willingness-to-pay to reduce the impact gives an opportunity for the Thai aviation industry to promote an environmentally friendly behaviour among the travelling public.

Das Ziel der Masterarbeit ist es zu klären, ob private Haushalte variable Strompreise akzeptieren und die Stärke der charakteristischen Merkmale zu ermitteln. Der dazu benötigte Datensatz wurde mit Hilfe einer Stated Choice Befragung im Internet ermittelt. Dafür wurden drei Gerätekategorien und ein Dreitarifmodell formuliert. Für die Auswertung wurde ein additiv verknüpftes Teilwert-Nutzenmodell und ein binäres Logit-Choice-Modell verwendet. Signifikante Variablen wurden über das Top-down-Verfahren bestimmt. Das Modell und die Schätzer der Preise wurden im Anschluss durch Hypothesentest getestet. Als signifikante Schätzer, mit stark negativen Werten, stellten sich in allen Kategorien die Preise heraus. Die Hypothesentests ergaben, dass es sinnvoll ist, die Schätzer der Preise für die ersten beiden Gerätetypen zusammenzufassen. Es stellte sich eine unterproportionale Preiselastizität der Nachfrage heraus und eine hohe Akzeptanz ein Teil der Geräte in den Nachtstunden zu nutzen. Insgesamt sprachen sich mehr Teilnehmer für ein Smart-Meter-Gateway aus als dagegen. / The aim of the master thesis is to clarify whether private households accept variable electricity prices and determine the strength of the characteristic attributes. The data set was determined with a Stated Choice survey on the Internet. For this purpose, three device categories and a three-tariff model were formulated. An additive-linked partial-value model and a binary logit choice model were used for the evaluation. Significant variables were determined by using the top-down method. Afterwards the model and the estimators of the prices were tested with statistical hypothesis testings. The price emerged as a significant estimator, with strongly negative values in all categories. The hypothesis tests showed that it is useful to conclude the estimators of the prices for the first two device types. The results showed an inelastic price elasticity of demand and a high acceptance of the subjects to use a part of the devices in the night hours. Overall, more participants decide to use a smart meter gateway than to refuse it.

Das Ziel der Masterarbeit ist es zu klären, ob private Haushalte variable Strompreise akzeptieren und die Stärke der charakteristischen Merkmale zu ermitteln. Der dazu benötigte Datensatz wurde mit Hilfe einer Stated Choice Befragung im Internet ermittelt. Dafür wurden drei Gerätekategorien und ein Dreitarifmodell formuliert. Für die Auswertung wurde ein additiv verknüpftes Teilwert-Nutzenmodell und ein binäres Logit-Choice-Modell verwendet. Signifikante Variablen wurden über das Top-down-Verfahren bestimmt. Das Modell und die Schätzer der Preise wurden im Anschluss durch Hypothesentest getestet. Als signifikante Schätzer, mit stark negativen Werten, stellten sich in allen Kategorien die Preise heraus. Die Hypothesentests ergaben, dass es sinnvoll ist, die Schätzer der Preise für die ersten beiden Gerätetypen zusammenzufassen. Es stellte sich eine unterproportionale Preiselastizität der Nachfrage heraus und eine hohe Akzeptanz ein Teil der Geräte in den Nachtstunden zu nutzen. Insgesamt sprachen sich mehr Teilnehmer für ein Smart-Meter-Gateway aus als dagegen.:Kurzfassung I Abstract I Themenbeschreibung für eine Forschungsarbeit II Inhaltsverzeichnis III Abbildungsverzeichnis V Tabellenverzeichnis VI Abkürzungsverzeichnis VII 1. Einleitung - 1 - 2. Gegenwärtiger Strommarkt - 3 - 2.1 Aufbau der Elektrizitätswirtschaft - 3 - 2.2 Strombörse - 5 - 2.3 Preisbildung des Stroms - 8 - 3. Nutzung variabler Strompreise - 13 - 3.1 Probleme und Gestaltung eines zukünftigen Strommarktes - 14 - 3.2 Funktionsweise des Demand Side Management - 19 - 3.3 Ausblick auf zukünftige Tarife - 25 - 3.4 Aufbau einer zukünftigen überregionalen und häuslichen Energieinfrastruktur - 28 - 3.5 Bandbreite möglicher Speichertechnologien des zukünftigen Strommarktes - 32 - 4. Theoretische Grundlagen - 39 - 4.1 Stated Preference vs. Revealed Preference - 39 - 4.2 Conjoint-Analyse - 40 - 4.3 Diskrete Wahlmodelle - 42 - 5. Hintergründe zur Erstellung des Fragebogens - 50 - 6. Modellspezifikation - 53 - 7. Analyse der Umfrage - 57 - 7.1 Auswertung des Modells - 57 - 7.2 Teststatistik - 62 - 8. Interpretation der Ergebnisse - 66 - 9. Fazit - 68 - Literaturverzeichnis IX Anhang XIV Erklärung zur Urheberschaft XXII / The aim of the master thesis is to clarify whether private households accept variable electricity prices and determine the strength of the characteristic attributes. The data set was determined with a Stated Choice survey on the Internet. For this purpose, three device categories and a three-tariff model were formulated. An additive-linked partial-value model and a binary logit choice model were used for the evaluation. Significant variables were determined by using the top-down method. Afterwards the model and the estimators of the prices were tested with statistical hypothesis testings. The price emerged as a significant estimator, with strongly negative values in all categories. The hypothesis tests showed that it is useful to conclude the estimators of the prices for the first two device types. The results showed an inelastic price elasticity of demand and a high acceptance of the subjects to use a part of the devices in the night hours. Overall, more participants decide to use a smart meter gateway than to refuse it.:Kurzfassung I Abstract I Themenbeschreibung für eine Forschungsarbeit II Inhaltsverzeichnis III Abbildungsverzeichnis V Tabellenverzeichnis VI Abkürzungsverzeichnis VII 1. Einleitung - 1 - 2. Gegenwärtiger Strommarkt - 3 - 2.1 Aufbau der Elektrizitätswirtschaft - 3 - 2.2 Strombörse - 5 - 2.3 Preisbildung des Stroms - 8 - 3. Nutzung variabler Strompreise - 13 - 3.1 Probleme und Gestaltung eines zukünftigen Strommarktes - 14 - 3.2 Funktionsweise des Demand Side Management - 19 - 3.3 Ausblick auf zukünftige Tarife - 25 - 3.4 Aufbau einer zukünftigen überregionalen und häuslichen Energieinfrastruktur - 28 - 3.5 Bandbreite möglicher Speichertechnologien des zukünftigen Strommarktes - 32 - 4. Theoretische Grundlagen - 39 - 4.1 Stated Preference vs. Revealed Preference - 39 - 4.2 Conjoint-Analyse - 40 - 4.3 Diskrete Wahlmodelle - 42 - 5. Hintergründe zur Erstellung des Fragebogens - 50 - 6. Modellspezifikation - 53 - 7. Analyse der Umfrage - 57 - 7.1 Auswertung des Modells - 57 - 7.2 Teststatistik - 62 - 8. Interpretation der Ergebnisse - 66 - 9. Fazit - 68 - Literaturverzeichnis IX Anhang XIV Erklärung zur Urheberschaft XXII

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agricultural Economics / Jason S. Bergtold / The adoption of new technologies on-farm is affected by socio-economic, risk management behavior, and market factors. The adoption of cellulosic biofuel feedstock enterprises and conservation practices plays an important role in the future of Kansas agriculture. No set markets currently exist for bioenergy feedstocks and farmers may be reluctant to produce the feedstocks without contracts to mitigate uncertainty and risk. Adoption of conservation practices to improve soil productivity and health may be affected by risk considerations also. The purpose of this dissertation is to study how market mechanisms and risk influence Kansas farmers’ willingness to adopt cellulosic biofuel feedstock enterprises and conservation practices on-farm. The first essay examines farmers’ willingness to grow switchgrass under contract using a stated choice approach. Data were collected using an enumerated survey of Kansas farmers and analyzed using latent class logistic regression models. Farmers whose primary enterprise is livestock are less inclined to grow switchgrass. In addition, shorter contracts, greater harvest flexibility, crop insurance, and cost-share assistance increase the likelihood farmers will grow switchgrass. The second essay examines how farmers’ risk perceptions impact conservation practice adoption. Factor analysis of survey data was used to identify primary risk management behaviors of Kansas farmers. A multinomial logit model of conservation practice adoption incorporating these risk behaviors was developed. Estimation results indicate that different risk management factors may have no significant impact on practice adoption. Farmers may not consider certain aspects of risk significant in their adoption decision. The third essay examines the effect of different risk management behaviors on farmers’ willingness to produce alternative cellulosic bioenergy feedstocks under contract. Data were collected using a farmer survey with a set of stated choice experiments and analyzed using factor analysis and latent class logistic regression models. While farmers approach risk management differently, the risk management behaviors identified have no significant impact on farmers’ willingness to produce corn stover and switchgrass but have a negative impact on farmers’ willingness to produce sweet sorghum as a biofuel feedstock. These results may indicate that farmers are indifferent toward adopting new bioenergy cropping enterprises when traditional crop production is profitable and more certain.

The road network is extremely valuable. Road Administrationsare expected to invest maintenance funding in a way thatreturns maximum benefit to road users. Cost-benefit analysis isone method to ensure that an adequate return in terms ofbenefits results from committing expenditure. Today,cost-benefit calculations are frequently used as a base fordecision making of investments. The surges for such methods inthe maintenance management sector are increasing. Up to the present, one reason for not analysing costs andbenefits for various maintenance management measures has beenthe lack of knowledge about comfort benefits for road users inquantitative monetary terms. The aim with this thesis is toinvestigate motorists’apprehension of pavementmaintenance management and winter maintenance operations. Thefinal goal is to find out their willingness to pay fordifferent levels of road maintenance management. Those valuescan later be used in cost-benefit calculations and also ineffect models of road maintenance management. Due to the pioneer status of this study, focus groups andin-depth interviews as well as a number of pilot studies havebeen carried out before a main survey with stated choiceexperiments could be designed. These exploratory studies showedthat the interviewees were familiar with the types of roadsurface damage that exist and in many cases mastered the sameterminology as the Road Administration and others. Showingpictures of well-known types of road damage lead to highermonetary valuations of getting better road standard incomparison with just text descriptions. One reason for thatcould be the requisite severness of the damage in order toillustrate a certain road maintenance shortage. The respondentswith the text descriptions could have stated their preferencesfor an, in their own minds, average shortcoming while the groupwith access to photograph of road damage all saw the samesevere damage. Illustrations of different road maintenancestandards make it possible to control the respondentsinterpretation of the maintenance management standard valuatedbut could lead to high monetary estimations. Driving comfort was very important to the interviewees inthe exploratory studies. That was manifested in the pilotstated choice surveys, which resulted in high willingness topay for better pavement management. The main study consisted of two surveys; the first one wasabout pavement maintenance management and was carried out inOctober to November 2000 and the second one took place inFebruary to March 2001 and was about winter maintenanceoperations. Both the pavement and the winter survey includedattitude questions and two stated choice experiments. Theresult showed that the maintenance management status of theroad network was important to car users. For example, the worstpavement damage was roughness; the motorists were willing topay 1.7 SEK (Swedish Crowns) per kilometre to avoid roadsdamaged in their full length. The least harmful damage of thosestudied was cracks; the willingness to pay to avoid that was0.5 SEK per kilometre. For more rapid snow clearance, the carusers were willing to pay 60 to 80 SEK per year for getting theroads cleared from snow one hour earlier than the currentstandard implies. The willingness to pay for driving on bareroads in comparison with snow roads was 0.4 SEK per kilometre.Statistical tests on the models showed that the parametervalueswere well estimated. In the pavement as well as in the winter survey, a clustergroup analysis was performed in order to test the heterogeneityof attitudes and behaviour to road maintenance management. Theanalysis resulted in two separate groups in each survey. Onegroup consisted of drivers who reported to be very influencedby the level of maintenance management regarding chosen speed,joy of driving and so on. The other group reported to be lessinfluenced and had lower acceptance of higher road tax for thepurpose to increase the maintenance management standard.Separate stated choice models revealed that the differences inattitudes could also reflect the respondents’willingnessto pay for higher road maintenance standard. However, thedifferences were only small and the different groups’monetary valuations were not found to be significantlydifferent from each other. The result of this study, better knowledge aboutmotorists’apprehension of maintenance management, theirattitudes to driving comfort and road standard and theirmonetary valuations of different levels of pavement maintenanceand winter maintenance operations, opens up the possibility tomake cost-benefit analysis of various maintenance managementprojects. The impact of the monetary values found in this studyhas been studied in a limited cost-benefit analysis. <b>Keywords:</b>stated choice, stated preference, valuationsof maintenance management, driving comfort, road standardevaluation

No description available.

<p>The road network is extremely valuable. Road Administrationsare expected to invest maintenance funding in a way thatreturns maximum benefit to road users. Cost-benefit analysis isone method to ensure that an adequate return in terms ofbenefits results from committing expenditure. Today,cost-benefit calculations are frequently used as a base fordecision making of investments. The surges for such methods inthe maintenance management sector are increasing.</p><p>Up to the present, one reason for not analysing costs andbenefits for various maintenance management measures has beenthe lack of knowledge about comfort benefits for road users inquantitative monetary terms. The aim with this thesis is toinvestigate motorists’apprehension of pavementmaintenance management and winter maintenance operations. Thefinal goal is to find out their willingness to pay fordifferent levels of road maintenance management. Those valuescan later be used in cost-benefit calculations and also ineffect models of road maintenance management.</p><p>Due to the pioneer status of this study, focus groups andin-depth interviews as well as a number of pilot studies havebeen carried out before a main survey with stated choiceexperiments could be designed. These exploratory studies showedthat the interviewees were familiar with the types of roadsurface damage that exist and in many cases mastered the sameterminology as the Road Administration and others. Showingpictures of well-known types of road damage lead to highermonetary valuations of getting better road standard incomparison with just text descriptions. One reason for thatcould be the requisite severness of the damage in order toillustrate a certain road maintenance shortage. The respondentswith the text descriptions could have stated their preferencesfor an, in their own minds, average shortcoming while the groupwith access to photograph of road damage all saw the samesevere damage. Illustrations of different road maintenancestandards make it possible to control the respondentsinterpretation of the maintenance management standard valuatedbut could lead to high monetary estimations.</p><p>Driving comfort was very important to the interviewees inthe exploratory studies. That was manifested in the pilotstated choice surveys, which resulted in high willingness topay for better pavement management.</p><p>The main study consisted of two surveys; the first one wasabout pavement maintenance management and was carried out inOctober to November 2000 and the second one took place inFebruary to March 2001 and was about winter maintenanceoperations. Both the pavement and the winter survey includedattitude questions and two stated choice experiments. Theresult showed that the maintenance management status of theroad network was important to car users. For example, the worstpavement damage was roughness; the motorists were willing topay 1.7 SEK (Swedish Crowns) per kilometre to avoid roadsdamaged in their full length. The least harmful damage of thosestudied was cracks; the willingness to pay to avoid that was0.5 SEK per kilometre. For more rapid snow clearance, the carusers were willing to pay 60 to 80 SEK per year for getting theroads cleared from snow one hour earlier than the currentstandard implies. The willingness to pay for driving on bareroads in comparison with snow roads was 0.4 SEK per kilometre.Statistical tests on the models showed that the parametervalueswere well estimated.</p><p>In the pavement as well as in the winter survey, a clustergroup analysis was performed in order to test the heterogeneityof attitudes and behaviour to road maintenance management. Theanalysis resulted in two separate groups in each survey. Onegroup consisted of drivers who reported to be very influencedby the level of maintenance management regarding chosen speed,joy of driving and so on. The other group reported to be lessinfluenced and had lower acceptance of higher road tax for thepurpose to increase the maintenance management standard.Separate stated choice models revealed that the differences inattitudes could also reflect the respondents’willingnessto pay for higher road maintenance standard. However, thedifferences were only small and the different groups’monetary valuations were not found to be significantlydifferent from each other.</p><p>The result of this study, better knowledge aboutmotorists’apprehension of maintenance management, theirattitudes to driving comfort and road standard and theirmonetary valuations of different levels of pavement maintenanceand winter maintenance operations, opens up the possibility tomake cost-benefit analysis of various maintenance managementprojects. The impact of the monetary values found in this studyhas been studied in a limited cost-benefit analysis.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>stated choice, stated preference, valuationsof maintenance management, driving comfort, road standardevaluation</p>

No description available.

This dissertation consists of three chapters that explore environmental policy. Chapter 1 empirically investigates the potential for incentives to encourage the adoption of low-emission alternatives to gasoline motorcycles. Hanoi, Vietnam, like many Asian cities, is experiencing rapid growth in the ownership of personal gasoline-powered motorcycles and scooters, and along with this heightened air quality issues. Electric scooters have the potential to reduce air pollution as an alternative to gasoline-powered motorcycles; however, electric scooters have yet to penetrate the Vietnamese and other large Asian markets. This study uses a choice experiment survey to elicit the demand for electric scooters, with focus on the effects that economic incentives and technology improvements have on adoption. Chapter 2 takes the first steps toward incorporating point sources into the theoretical discussion on nonpoint pollution ambient taxes. Previous investigations into the use of ambient taxes for nonpoint source pollution have not addressed the role of point sources, even though many watersheds have both source types. This paper examines the use of taxes for jointly regulating point and nonpoint sources. A model of point-nonpoint pollution is developed, and within this framework taxes are applied to achieve different regulatory objectives, including implementing optimal emissions reductions, as well as meeting exogenously specified environmental goals at least cost. Discussion centers on comparison of the point and nonpoint taxes in each scenario. Chapter 3 is an experimental economics examination of the design of markets for water quality trading. Water quality trading is endorsed by policymakers as a tool for reducing pollution in watersheds in a cost-effective manner, and many watersheds in the U.S. have established water quality trading programs. As a whole, these programs have not been successful. It is hypothesized that common features of these programs, such as the market institutions in place, may contribute to the limited success. As a first step in empirically investigating water quality trading markets, this study uses laboratory experiments to isolate how different institutions affect economic efficiency. In particular, we compare cap-and-trade, two forms of baseline-and-credit institution, and a tax/subsidy regulation, and examine the effect of introducing fixed technology costs with these four institutions.