| By: |
Fredrik Carlsson (Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg);
Mitesh Kataria (Max Planck Institute of Economics, Strategic Interaction Group, Jena);
Elina Lampi (Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg) |
| Abstract: |
We investigate whether Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
administrator recommendations regarding improvements in environmental quality
differ from citizen preferences. The scope and significance of the possible
difference are assessed by conducting identical choice experiments on a random
sample of Swedish citizens and a random sample of administrators working at
the Swedish EPA. The experiment concerns two environmental quality objectives:
a Balanced Marine Environment and Clean Air. The EPA administrators were asked
to choose the alternatives they would recommend as a policy, while the
citizens were asked to act as private persons. We find that the rankings of
attributes differ between the two groups and that the willingness to pay (WTP)
obtained from the choices made by the administrators is higher for five out of
the seven attributes, and in some cases the difference between the WTPs is not
only significant but also substantial. We also asked the administrators to
motivate their choices in the experiment, and the main motive was ecological
sustainability. |
| Keywords: |
Choice experiment, environmental policy, administrators, citizens, environmental objectives. |
| JEL: |
D61 Q51 Q58 |
| Date: |
2009–08–06 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2009-057&r=dcm |