This study compares an ordered probit model and a Tobit model with selection to take into account both true zero and protest zero bids while estimating the willingness to pay (WTP) for coi~servation easements in Macon County, NC. By comparing the two models, the ordere~Uunordered selection issue of the protest responses is analyzed to demonstrate how the treatment of protest responses can signi...

Estimates of willingness to pay (WTP) for health, environmental, and other goods obtained using contingent valuation (CV) have been criticized as inadequately sensitive to the scope or magnitude of the good. We investigate the sensitivity of WTP to variation in the magnitude of reductions in health risk using survey data collected in two countries, Taiwan and the United States, that differ dram...

This study is an attempt to overcome the lack of reliable estimates on the willingness of Malaysian users to pay for public transportation (particularly buses) through a combined analysis of a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (F-AHP) and the Taguchi method. This is a ground-breaking study in the attempt to evaluate the bus users’ satisfaction factors based on the F-AHP, and find the pattern f...

This paper examines the determinants of the decision of low-income renters to move out of their current dwelling. Maximum score estimation is shown t be superior to ordinary discrete choice estimation techniques (probit, logit) for this problem, ad for similar discrete choices that require revering a previously optimal decision. The estimation reveals psychological costs f moving for typical lo...

Cultural ecosystem service (CES) constitutes a growing field of researches in integrated land planning, among which is how to optimize the provision to nearby neighborhoods. Thus an understanding of the value of CES appreciated by residents needs to be developed. Stated preference methods are popular in valuing CES, among which, willingness to pay (WTP) is the most widely used way. But still, i...

The presence of pharmaceutical compounds in treated wastewater and in surface waters is a growing environmental concern. This paper provides information about general awareness of the issue, disposal practices, willingness to pay for a disposal program, and willingness to participate in a disposal program. The results are based on a telephone survey of 1005 residents in southern California. Les...

Several public health groups have called for the creation of a global fund for 'social protection'-a fund that produces the international equivalent of domestic tax collection and safety net systems to finance care for the ill and disabled and related health costs. All participating countries would pay into a global fund based on a metric of their ability to pay and withdraw from the common poo...

This paper develops a hedonic model of job security (JS). Workers with heterogeneous JS-preferences pay the hedonic price for JS to employers, who incur labor-hoarding costs from supplying JS. In contrast to the Wage-Bill Argument, equilibrium unemployment is strictly positive, as workers with weak JS-preferences trade JS for higher wages. The relation between optimal job insecurity and the per...

The paper develops a voting model for public pensions based on the assumption that families can coordinate their voting. A family profits from a public pension program if its retired members receive more benefits than the working members pay in taxes. Given a pay-as-you-go budget constraint, net gains accrue to families with above-average ratios of retirees to voters. A majority of voters will ...