ICA 2010 paper

In the present study, the economic value of sleep disturbance due to traffic noise was examined by means of the contingent valuation method (CVM). In 2009, we conducted a questionnaire study in an area in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan; residents of this area are expected to be affected by the expansion of the Tokyo International Airport, which is scheduled for 2010. Residents were asked about their willingness to accept compensation (WTA) per month for once-amonth and once-a-week sleep disturbance due to traffic noise. Although open-ended CVM was employed to gather residents’ opinions on WTA, two choices (“I do not need compensation because it does not bother me” and “I need more than money, and do not accept the disturbance”) were also offered. Two versions of the questionnaire, one asking about aircraft noise and the other asking about road traffic noise, were prepared. Each version of the questionnaire was sent to 1,600 residents in the study area. As a result, 1,947 responses with a signature on the consent form were collected and the number of valid responses obtained was 1,829 (906: aircraft noise, 923: road traffic noise). It was found that respondents’ WTA did not seem to differ depending on whether the disturbance was due to aircraft noise or road traffic noise. It was also found that there were great differences between individual WTAs for sleep disturbance due to traffic noise. The median value of the WTA for once-a-month sleep disturbance was 26,000 JPY/month (25–75th percentile: 3,000–“More than money”). The median value of the WTA for once-a-week sleep disturbance was “More than money” (25–75th percentile: 15,000–“More than money”). Furthermore, it was revealed that respondents’ WTA varied significantly according to their basic attributes, such as age, socio-economic status, and subjective noise sensitivity.