Robert J. Johnston , Tobias Börger , Nick Hanley , Keila Meginnis , Tom Ndebele , Ghamz E. Ali Siyal , Nicola Beaumont , Frans P. de Vries
{"title":"Consequences of omitting non-lethal wildlife impacts from stated preference scenarios","authors":"Robert J. Johnston , Tobias Börger , Nick Hanley , Keila Meginnis , Tom Ndebele , Ghamz E. Ali Siyal , Nicola Beaumont , Frans P. de Vries","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2024.103011","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Stated preference (SP) research on willingness to pay (WTP) for improvements to wildlife populations focuses almost universally on measures related to whether organisms live or die. Preferences for changes in non-lethal harm to wildlife are generally overlooked. To evaluate the consequences, this article develops a theoretical model and corresponding discrete choice experiment (DCE) to evaluate whether and how the omission of information on non-lethal wildlife harm influences WTP estimation, grounded in a case study of marine plastic reductions in the North Atlantic. The theoretical model suggests that when environmental programs have both lethal and non-lethal impacts on wild species, DCEs that omit information on the latter may not produce valid welfare measures. Empirical results show that the omission of this information has multiple impacts on welfare estimates, largely consistent with theoretical predictions. Results suggest that welfare estimates for wildlife improvements can be confounded by the omission of information on non-lethal harm from SP scenarios. Results also demonstrate the hazards of excluding potentially welfare-relevant information from SP scenarios when respondents might assume relationships between omitted information and other material included in the questionnaire.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0095069624000858","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BUSINESS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Stated preference (SP) research on willingness to pay (WTP) for improvements to wildlife populations focuses almost universally on measures related to whether organisms live or die. Preferences for changes in non-lethal harm to wildlife are generally overlooked. To evaluate the consequences, this article develops a theoretical model and corresponding discrete choice experiment (DCE) to evaluate whether and how the omission of information on non-lethal wildlife harm influences WTP estimation, grounded in a case study of marine plastic reductions in the North Atlantic. The theoretical model suggests that when environmental programs have both lethal and non-lethal impacts on wild species, DCEs that omit information on the latter may not produce valid welfare measures. Empirical results show that the omission of this information has multiple impacts on welfare estimates, largely consistent with theoretical predictions. Results suggest that welfare estimates for wildlife improvements can be confounded by the omission of information on non-lethal harm from SP scenarios. Results also demonstrate the hazards of excluding potentially welfare-relevant information from SP scenarios when respondents might assume relationships between omitted information and other material included in the questionnaire.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Environmental Economics and Management publishes theoretical and empirical papers devoted to specific natural resources and environmental issues. For consideration, papers should (1) contain a substantial element embodying the linkage between economic systems and environmental and natural resources systems or (2) be of substantial importance in understanding the management and/or social control of the economy in its relations with the natural environment. Although the general orientation of the journal is toward economics, interdisciplinary papers by researchers in other fields of interest to resource and environmental economists will be welcomed.