The willingness to pay for urban parks' amenities: the economic value of 'Bois Sainte Anastasie' in Yaoundé, Cameroon

Abstract

This paper, through the contingent valuation method and the 'referendum' format, values the preferences of the users of 'Bois Sainte Anastasie' park for a policy of endowment of this environmental non-market good with more amenities. The certainty calibration and the 'consequentialism script' are incorporated to further minimise hypothetical behaviours. Parametric and non-parametric methods are applied to elicit the willingness to pay for the improvement of the park. From the results, the probability that the respondents accept the pre-chosen bid is positively influenced by the income level. The average WTP is USD 0.38 from the parametric model and USD 0.63 from the non-parametric model. 78% of visitors are eager to pay a higher entrance fee if this park is endowed with more amenities. The results reveal high demand for the described change from current users.