| Abstract: |
This paper explores the statistical validity of the willingness to pay (WTP)
answers from a contingent valuation (CV) survey concerning value assessment of
recreation and biodiversity protection programs. Firstly, we use a
non-parametric testing approach as to evaluate the whether (a) different
information levels concerning the government costs with the Park and (b)
different payment vehicles influence the stated WTP responses. Secondly, we
use a parametric model specification as to investigate the impact of the
elicitation question format on the stated WTP responses. The likelihood ratio
test results, at 95% confidence level, confirm the validity of the proposed
survey a measurement instrument. Nevertheless, the presence of free riding
turns out to be statistically significant in one of the survey versions. The
parametric model results suggest that the differences in the mean WTP
estimates across the two question formats are not statistically different.
Furthermore, the double bounded dichotomous choice model value estimates point
out that the WTP for the recreation protection program is lower than the WTP
for the biodiversity protection program, thus confirming the importance of
non-use value component of the Natural Area. |