After several decades of rapid urbanisation, population growth and industrialisation, most developing countries have now become home to the rapidly increasing informal sector’s polluting activities. With marked failures in their use of traditional Command and Control (CAC) legislation, limited technical and fiscal environmental protection resources coupled with weak environmental protection, complimentary judicial and legislative institutions, it has become necessary for these countries to look somewhere else for environment regulation policy. This study evaluates potential contributions of public-led voluntary agreements programs in the control of informal sector pollution in Lusaka’s Soweto and City markets in Zambia. The study employs Binary Logistic Models to establish factors critical to the successful implementation of environmental management voluntary agreements in the two markets. It also uses the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to assess and estimate traders’ Willingness to pay (WTP) for proposed improvements to cleanliness in the markets. The main empirical data for the study was collected by means of a questionnaire survey of 93 traders in the two markets and supplemented by semi-structured interviews. The study finds that indeed voluntary agreements have a potential to control informal sector pollution in developing countries like Zambia. The study also finds that while the informal sector significantly contributes to urban pollution, they are hamstrung by lack of capacity to control their own pollution. The absence of adequate regulatory enforcement and appropriate incentives in terms of waste bins and cleaners in these markets seriously militate against the sector’s limited efforts in implementing positive environmental management in these markets. The traders’ mean willingness to pay (WTP) for the proposed improvement to cleanliness in the two market is K483,384 per trader per year while the total WTP of all the traders in the two markets is K1,208,460,000 or K1.2 billion per year. As a proportion of the traders’ average annual income, the mean WTP amounts to 0.8%. The study concludes that deliberate interventions with the aim of enhancing their capacity are necessary. In this regard specific recommendations have been made for policy intervention in specific key areas, namely; the provision of appropriate incentives in form of increasing the number of waste bins and cleaners in the markets together with supporting organisational structure and efficient services in terms of frequent removal of waste from the markets by the local authority; the expansion and strengthening of the physical presence of regulatory and enforcement agents in these markets and finally; the building of a shared understanding among the traders of the need for maintaining a clean and environmentally conducive market area through continued sensitisation programs in these markets Copyright / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

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

ABSTRACT Extension agricultural business programs have provided enhanced individualized services to Vermont’s agricultural producers by using a variety of external funding sources combined with base departmental funds. These farm business programs are uniquely positioned to deliver one-on-one outreach education and information that not only has a direct benefit to private farm business owners but indirectly serves the public good by enhancing farm business viability. Meanwhile, there is an ongoing cultural shift among Extension professionals and farm owners who acknowledge that Extension programs cannot be sustained at low or no cost to participants. Funding for Extension programming has been declining for several years. Traditional funding sources, such as university base funding and state legislature appropriations, have been significantly reduced, and as a result, faculty positions in Extension nationwide have been reduced or eliminated altogether. New ways to support Extension programming must be developed in order to continue to deliver high quality business outreach education to Vermont agricultural producers. This research addresses this need in the following two ways. First, Farm Viability (now Agricultural Business) program participants were surveyed to gauge their understanding of declining funding from traditional sources to determine whether or not a fee-based structure for future programming is acceptable them. Next, a reflective essay proposes solutions for supplementing funding for Extension programming with a fee-for-service model for advanced and extended one-on-one programming. Survey results showed that those respondents likely to engage in programming beyond the initial 2-year period were willing to pay for extended services at a rate higher than the original application fee. Of those who were willing to pay for future services, 80% of respondents said that they would use a plan that included 1-3 visits at a cost of $250 - $499. The reflective essay defines program areas in need of funding enhancement, such as using facilitated management teams, succession planning and grant application assistance. The essay discusses programming opportunities that exist to serve at least some past program participants with additional one-on-one services, thereby sharing the increasing financial burden experienced by Extension educators in the presence of shrinking internal capacity to fund this type of outreach education. This research also raises awareness in areas of program costs, dwindling funding sources, and how participants can help share the financial burden. Important points for farmers weighing the merits of paying for program participation and future programing opportunities are discussed. These results can guide the efforts of program administrators seeking to improve the cost-effectiveness of Extension outreach education in Vermont agriculture.

This study determines consumer demand for staple food crops biofortified with micronutrients in three sub-Saharan African countries. Specifically, the study investigates how the choice of a valuation technique for a nonmarket good or new product, and gender, influence acceptance of biofortified food crops. Biofortification, a new public health intervention for alleviating micronutrient deficiency problems in developing countries, is achieved by enhancing the micronutrient content of staple food crops using conventional plant breeding or biotechnology. The rural poor in developing countries are likely to benefit most from biofortification, for two main reasons. Firstly, their diets are primarily comprised of staple foods that are usually poor sources of micronutrients. Secondly, they have limited access to fortified food products, mineral and vitamin supplements. The novel property of biofortification, however, has been associated with changes in the intrinsic properties of staple food crops that may not be familiar to consumers. Thus, knowing consumers’ attitudes and potential reactions to such changes in their staple food crops has been important to researchers and marketers alike. The study employs hedonic evaluations and incentive-compatible economic experimental data from HarvestPlus that aimed at determining consumer acceptance of micronutrient biofortified staple food crops in three sub-Saharan countries, i.e., Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia. The first objective compares the Becker–DeGroot–Marschak (BDM) mechanism to the non-hypothetical choice experiment (nHCE) in revealing the willingness to pay (WTP) for a new maize variety biofortified with vitamin A, under a field setting in Zambia. A mixed logit model was used to determine consumers’ WTP for the biofortified orange maize, relative to the two local maize varieties in the nHCE. While a symmetrically censored least square (SCLS) model was used to determine consumers’ WTP for the biofortified orange maize in the BDM experiment. The results show that the nHCE yielded significantly higher WTP estimates than that from the BDM mechanism. The second objective, related to the first, explored potential reasons for the WTP disparity between the BDM and the nHCE. The results indicate that accounting for additional training in the BDM experiment and lexicographic behaviour in the nHCE, together resulted in a decrease by half in the WTP estimates difference between the two methods. This difference, however, remains statistically significant. The third objective determined whether the gender of the decision-maker is important in determining consumer’s attitudes and behaviour towards biofortified food crops. Specifically, the study explores gender differences in hedonic preferences and consumer valuations of food products made from biofortified food crops. Emphasis was placed on the statistical analysis methods that incorporate gender while fully accounting for sources of both the observed and unobserved heterogeneity across gender. Results suggest that the gender of the decision-maker may be an important factor in both hedonic preferences and WTP for biofortified food crops, although the results varied across three countries. In Zambia and Rwanda, gender differences were observed in hedonic preferences for vitamin A-biofortified orange maize and biofortified iron beans respectively, while no evidence of gender differences was observed in hedonic preferences for vitamin A biofortified cassava in Nigeria. On the other hand, gender differences in WTP for biofortified foods were observed across the three countries in the respective biofortified food crops. While it is not yet clear how the BDM and the nHCE can result in significantly different empirical estimates under similar conditions, these results suggest the solution could lie in controlling for design effects from the two techniques. Similarly, controlling for gender differences not only in the outcome variable but also in its determinants may be necessary to attain valid estimates of consumer acceptance of biofortified foods. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / PhD / Unrestricted

In the Real Estate market there are a large number of commercial properties with offices. As a company or business you are faced with many decisions when choosing your office space. This bachelor thesis examines the concept of architectural quality with focus on beauty and its value for office tenants. The ambition is to find out if beauty is a decisive factor in the selection of office and if there is a willingness to pay for it. The selected question is studied in a case study of Garnisonen where tenants, a property owner and an architect are interviewed, all with connection to the examination object. Garnisonen is well suited as a case study because it is Stockholm's largest office complex with buildings from three different architectural eras. Tenants in the survey represent all architectural styles and have different industry affiliation. As a theoretical framework a literature study is presented where the importance of beauty for the individual, the built environment and society are treated, and also how the office can be used for branding purposes. The interviewees’ views of beauty and their opinions on beauty at work in Garnisonen are presented in the results. To find out if there is a willingness to pay for beauty the respondents get to put a value on beauty based on rental changes given in per cent. The analysis links the results with the theory chapter. The conclusion interprets the analysis and discloses the willingness to pay for beauty in Garnisonen with the aspiration to give an indication of a more general view of the value of beauty. / På fastighetsmarknaden finns ett stort antal kommersiella fastigheter med kontor. Som företag eller verksamhet ställs man inför flera beslut vid val av kontorslokal. I det här kandidatarbetet undersöks begreppet arkitektonisk kvalitet med fokus på skönhet och dess värde för kontorshyresgästen. Syftet är att ta reda på om skönhet är en avgörande faktor vid val av lokal och om det finns en betalningsvilja för det. Den valda frågan studeras i en fallstudie av Garnisonen där hyresgäster, fastighetsägare och en arkitekt intervjuas, alla med anknytning till undersökningsobjektet. Garnisonen lämpar sig väl som fallstudie då det är Stockholms största kontorskomplex med byggnader från tre olika arkitektoniska tidsepoker. Hyresgästerna representerar samtliga arkitekturstilar och har olika branschtillhörighet. Som teoretiskt ramverk presenteras en litteraturstudie där betydelsen av skönhet för individen, den byggda miljön och samhället behandlas, därtill hur kontoret kan användas i varumärkesbyggande syfte för ett företag. I resultatet redovisas intervjuobjektens syn på skönhet och deras tankar kring skönhet på arbetsplatsen i Garnisonen. För att ta reda på om det finns en betalningsvilja för skönhet får respondenterna sätta ett värde på skönhet utifrån en hyresförändring angiven i procent. I analysen sammankopplas resultatet med teoriavsnittet. Slutsatsen tolkar analysen och behandlar betalningsviljan för skönhet i Garnisonen med viljan att ge en indikation om en mer allmän syn på värdet av skönhet.

Sammanfattning Titel: "Klimatsmartare förpackning" och "ekologiskt" En undersökning för hur miljöetiketter påverkar konsumentens Intention To Buy och Willingness To Pay. Nivå: Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Charlotta Ekebergh och Thai To Handledare: Patrik Sörqvist Datum: juni, 2021 Syfte: Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka konsumentens intention to buy (ITB) och willingness to pay (WTP) för olika typer av vinförpackningar samt att se om dessaskattningar kan påverkas genom Systembolagets märkningar "klimatsmartare förpackning" och "ekologiskt". Studien undersökte även om det finns några skillnader mellanrespondenternas ITB och WTP för självskattad miljövänlighet, enligt studiens miljöindex. Metod: Studien utfördes med ett faktoriell kvasiexperiment (4x4) med totalt 102 deltagare, där respondenterna fick ge svar utefter en 7-gradig Likertskala i en enkätundersökning innehållandes manipulerade bilder för att besvara studiens hypoteser. Resultat & Analys: Denna studie visar att respondenternas skattade intention att köpa (ITB) och betalningsvilja (WTP), skiljer sig mycket åt beroende på förpackningstyp för vin. Dessa skattningar har i vissa fall visat sig kunna påverkas av Systembolaget etiketter "klimatsmartare förpackning" och "ekologiskt". Resultaten visade att det i stora drag stämmer överens med tidigare empiriska resultat men att även motsättningar har kunnat bekräftas genom statistiskt signifikanta resultat. Examensarbetets bidrag: Denna studie visar signifikanta skillnader för respondenternas skattade intention att köpa (ITB) och betalningsvilja (WTP) för de olika förpackningsalternativen för vin i kombination med de olika etiketterna "klimatsmartare förpackning" och "ekologiskt". Resultatet från studien kan tänkas indikera konsumenters intention att köpa (ITB) och betalningsvilja (WTP) för vin i alternativa förpackningar i kombination med de olika etiketterna. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Denna studie föreslår vidare forskning där man undersöker konsumenters faktiska köp på Systembolaget i förhållande till konsumentens skattade ITB förekologiska produkter och produkter i klimatsmartare förpackningar. Ytterligare förslag ges för vidare forskning att undersöka om liknande förhållanden råder för andra produktgrupper på Systembolaget. Samt att undersöka konsumenters intention att köpa (ITB) och betalningsvilja (WTP) för alternativa, klimatsmartare förpackningar för andra typer av livsmedel. Nyckelord: Wine, Intention To Buy (ITB), Willingness To Pay (WTP), Organic, Label,Packaging / Abstract Title: "Klimatsmartare förpackning" and "ekologiskt"A study researching how climate friendly labels affect the consumers’ Intention To Buy and Willingness To Pay. Level: Student theses, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Author: Charlotta Ekebergh and Thai To Supervisor: Patrik Sörqvist Date: June – 2021 Aim: The aim for this study was to research whether the consumers intention to buy (ITB)and willingness to pay (WTP) for different types of wine packaging could be altered through the use of Systembolaget’s labels, "klimatsmartare förpackning" and "ekologiskt". (In english the labels would read "climate friendlier packaging" and "organic"). Further, this study aimed to research whether any differences between the respondents ITB and WTP occurs according to the respondent’s self-evaluated environmental friendliness, and this studies’ environmental index. Method: This study was performed with a factorial Quasi-experiment (4x4) with a total of 102 participants, responding through a 7-grade Likert scale in a questionnaire containing manipulated images to answer the hypotheses of this study. Result & Conclusions: This study shows that the respondents estimated intention to buy (ITB) and willingness to pay (WTP) differs greatly depending on the type of wine packaging. These estimates have in some cases been influenced by the Systembolaget’s labels "klimatsmartare förpackning" and "ekologiskt". The results from this study largely showed that they are in line with previous empirical results. However, this study has proven some contradictions to be statistically significant. Contribution of the thesis: This study shows statistically significant differences between therespondents estimated intention to buy (ITB) and willingness to pay (WTP) for the different types of wine packaging in combination with the two labels "klimatsmartare förpackning" and "ekologiskt". The results show an actual indication of consumers intention to buy (ITB) and willingness to pay (WTP) for wine in different types of packaging in combination with the two labels. Suggestions for future research: This study suggests future research to investigate consumers actual purchases at Systembolaget in relation to their estimated intention to buy (ITB) of organic products and products in a more climate friendly packaging. Further suggestions are to investigate whether similar relationships occur for other types of products at Systembolaget. Lastly, investigate whether the consumers intention to buy (ITB) and willingnessto pay (WTP) for alternative, more climate friendly packaging for other types of food. Key words: Wine, Intention To Buy (ITB), Willingness To Pay (WTP), Organic, Label, Packaging

Descriptive menu labels are omnipresent elements in restaurant menus. Food service operations often use sensory, nostalgic, and brand descriptions to signal a customer's food-specific perceptions. Extant research has shown links between descriptive menu labels and food taste/enjoyment perceptions. To extend and expand the extant literature, this dissertation proposes that descriptive menu labels can be viewed as an anthropomorphizing factor, leading to different magnitudes of consumption-related attitudes and behavioral intentions in a restaurant. Drawing from metaphoric transfer theory and social impression models, the present research study suggests that descriptive labels in a restaurant transmit metaphors that influence consumers' impending warmth and competence perceptions of a restaurant. This dissertation also investigates the potential inversed magnitudes of anticipated satisfaction and willingness-to-pay-more driven by warmth/competence. In this empirical study, descriptive menu labels were experimentally manipulated. Consumers' warmth-related and competence-related service impressions, anticipated satisfaction, and willingness-to-pay-more more were measured. The empirical investigation comprised two pretests and one main study. The hypotheses were tested in two menu contexts (an entrée menu vs. a dessert menu). Overall, the results suggest that customers view a restaurant with sensory- and nostalgia-triggering descriptions as offering warmer impending services (i.e., with kindness, generosity, and understanding) compared to a restaurant with general descriptions. On the other hand, customers view a restaurant that utilizes brand-related descriptions as providing more competent and skilled impending services than a restaurant that utilizes general descriptions. In addition, the findings suggest that consumers' warmth impressions serve a more important role in their anticipated satisfaction than do their competence impressions; however, regarding willingness-to-pay-more, competence impressions factor more significantly than do warmth impressions. The replications of the results across the two menu contexts showed the robustness of the findings; however, there was a different pattern observed for the effects of sensory labels on consumers' warmth-related impressions in the dessert menu selection context. This dissertation contributes to emerging streams of menu labeling and service management literature. The findings presented in this dissertation have both theoretical and managerial implications for the food service industry. / Ph. D.

ABSTRACT Background and purpose: The purpose of this study is to fill the gap which is present in the science area of sustainable transport. According to the literature study that has been performed within this thesis it has not been possible to identify any studies which investigates what individuals that has a willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainable transport has in common. By investigating if there are any differences between these individuals the study aims to find a common ground in terms of socioeconomic factors or general attitude towards the climate. By doing this, the science gap within this area will be reduced and companies can use the result to identify which kind of services this should be applied to. If more companies apply the sustainable transport choice, more individuals will be able to choose it and the climate footprint could become smaller.    Method: In order to find differences between individuals it is essential to apply a method which can be established in the science. By performing a qualitative pre-study of earlier science and literature science, questions have been constructed to create a foundation for a survey. The survey was performed digitally and included questions about the individual socioeconomic factors, general attitude towards the climate and their WTP for sustainable transport. After removal of non-essential answers 109 respondents was left which became the foundation of the analysis. The study is limited to the author’s social network represented by people living in Sweden.   Result: The study has found common ground for individuals that has a WTP for sustainable transport. The socioeconomic differences of the individuals has no impact on their WTP for sustainable transport. An individual with WTP is known by its’ concern for the environment and by performing other climate smart choices in the everyday life.   Conclusion: The result support, which has been proven by this study, that all companies have the possibility to apply sustainable transport regardless of what target group they have. Also, companies that have individuals that do other climate smart choices as a target group has even bigger chances of successfully implementing sustainable transport.  Keywords: Sustainable transport, Green transport, Willingness to pay / SAMMANFATTNING Bakgrund och syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att fylla det gap som finns i forskningen inom området hållbar transport. Enligt den litteraturstudie som har utförts i anknytning till arbetet har det inte identifierats några studier som undersökt vad som kännetecknar individer som innehar betalningsvilja för hållbar transport. Genom att undersöka om det finns skillnader mellan individer och på så vis hitta gemensamma nämnare i form av socioekonomisk bakgrund eller generell inställning till miljön ska denna studie bidra till forskningen genom att dels täcka det gap som finns men också ge företag som kan applicera denna tjänst ett incitament för att ta det steget. Om fler företag erbjuder hållbar transport kommer fler individer ha möjlighet att välja denna tjänst och i sin tur kommer miljöpåverkan i samhället minska.   Metod: För att hitta skillnader mellan individer är det essentiellt att tillämpa ett metodval som kan förankras i forskningen. Genom en kvalitativ förstudie av tidigare forskning och litteratur har det utformats frågor som lagt grund för en enkätundersökning. Enkätundersökningen utfördes digitalt och inkluderade frågor om individens socioekonomiska bakgrund, generell inställning till miljön samt betalningsviljan för hållbar transport. Efter bortplockande av felaktigt genomförda undersökningar kvarstod 109 tillfrågade respondenter vilket la grund för den analys som sedan lett fram till resultatet. Studien är avgränsad till författarens sociala medier vilket är representerat av människor som bor i Sverige.   Resultat: Studien har hittat gemensamma nämnare för de individer som innehar en betalningsvilja för hållbar transport. Vad en individ har för socioekonomisk bakgrund spelar ingen roll för individens betalningsvilja för hållbar transport. En individ som innehar betalningsvilja för hållbar transport kännetecknas enbart av att den är orolig för klimatförändringarna och dess konsekvenser samt att den gör andra klimatsmarta val i vardagen.   Konklusion: Resultatet stödjer, med denna studie som grund, att hållbar transport kan appliceras på samtliga företag och det har alltså ingen betydelse vilken målgrupp produkten eller tjänsten inriktar sig på. Däremot har företag vars målgrupp är individer som gör andra klimatsmarta val ännu större chanser att lyckas sälja hållbar transport.   Nyckelord: Hållbar transport, Grön transport, Betalningsvilja

In this thesis we provide a theoretical framework for a dichotomous-choice contingent valuation survey for plastic and reusable shopping bags and consequential analysis of that data. By using interval regression analysis, a mean willingness to pay for continued use of plastic grocery bags and a mean willingness to accept to use reusable bags for all grocery shopping trips are estimated. The subsidy level was statistically robust while the tax level was not; this led us to the conclusion as cited from previous studies that people are very elastic to a plastic bag tax, and consequently a small tax provides tremendous consumptive declines.

Economists are still searching for methods to reduce/eliminate Hypothetical Bias (HB). Different methods have been previously applied some with success and others without. In this study, we aimed to further test the cognitive dissonance approach (CD) through a learning design method to estimate the WTP for five beef attributes: Non-quality, Kentucky Proud, Appalachian, Grass Fed and a mix of 25% Non-quality and 75% Kentucky Proud, using a one and one half bounded model. To test the CD, 881 participants from the University of Kentucky, were randomly assigned to a real/hypothetical market for a battery recycling project at first and afterwards to a hypothetical market for beef. For the battery recycling, participants were asked to donate $1, $2 or $3. For the beef market, participants were randomly assigned to a $4 or $6 for the non-quality attribute patty. Participants assigned to a $4 were afterwards randomly assigned to a $4.5, $5, $5.5 or $6 and the ones assigned to a $6 were afterwards assigned to a $6.5, $7, $7.5 and $8 for the other attribute patties. From this study, we found that the learning design was effective in reducing the cognitive dissonance or conflicts between what consumers say and their actions.