This paper provides probit estimates of willingness to pay for Snake River salmon
recovery projects using the contingent value survey method. Two types of survey method
are tested, the direct question format and the randomized response format. Additionally,
both an increase in electric bill payments and volunteer time are offered as payment
vehicles. The results suggest that there is not much difference in estimates of willingness
to pay between the two survey formats. They also suggest that for the Oregon State
University staff, there is substantial willingness to pay through electric bill increases but
not in volunteer time.
By guaranteeing the respondents anonymity, the randomized response format is
hypothesized to encourage more truthful answers, thereby reducing yea-saying bias. The
results indicate that yea-saying may be reduced for those who contribute to environmental
causes but overall does not affect willingness to pay. Other studies using the randomized
response format that show a reduction in yea-saying and willingness to pay were done in
classroom settings while this survey was a mail survey. There is an indication that the
privacy and anonymity of the mail survey is enough to mitigate social pressure and yea-saying as opposed to a classroom setting. This suggests that the randomized response format may be more appropriate for group surveys or personal interview surveys.
The result that there is substantial monetary support in the form of an increase in electric bills but not in the form of volunteer time payments may be due to the sample being fully employed. Also Snake River salmon restoration projects may seem geographically distant to this sample so volunteer activities may seem unrealistic. / Graduation date: 1998
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/33792 |
| Date | 12 June 1997 |
| Creators | Rooney, Brian T. |
| Contributors | Kerkvliet, Joe |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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