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In developing countries like Indonesia, the challenge of providing electricity services is often about how to combine commercial and development objectives optimally. In this context, good knowledge of consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) and trade-offs among electricity service attributes is of strategic value, especially when achieving development objectives involve raising electricity tariffs to consumers. This study uses a discrete choice experiment (DCE) and two estimation methods, mixed logit (MXL) and latent class logit (LCL), in order to better understand the preferences of electricity customers. Specifically, the objective of the experiment is to understand how consumers balance the trade-off among four electricity service attributes: the duration of the outage, source of electricity generated, rural electrification ratio, and tariffs. The DCE survey was conducted in Bandung (Indonesia) with 1600 questionnaires were distributed. The analysis demonstrates that consumers are willing to pay for the proposed condition, away from status-quo. For example, using MXL method to reduce the outage duration to be 2 hours/year, the WTP is ranging from IDR5,000 (USD1.18) to IDR61,500 (USD14.49) per month, depending on the size of the installed capacity. While for the increase of rural electrification ratio to 100%, it ranges from IDR17,600 (USD4.15) to IDR215,000 (USD50.64) per month. The analysis emphasizes that there is significant heterogeneity in preferences for electricity service attributes.

Conjoint analysis is one of the most popular methods to measure preferences of individuals or groups. It determines, for instance, the degree how much consumers like or value specific products, which then leads to a purchase decision. In particular, the method discovers the utilities that (product) attributes add to the overall utility of a product (or stimuli). Conjoint analysis has emerged from the traditional rating- or ranking-based method in marketing to a general experimental method to study individual’s discrete choice behavior with the choice-based conjoint variant. It is therefore not limited to classical applications in marketing, such as new product development, pricing, branding, or market simulations, but can be applied to study research questions from related disciplines, for instance, how marketing managers choose their ad campaign, how managers select internationalization options, why consumers engage in or react to social media, etc. This chapter describes comprehensively the “state-of-the-art” of conjoint analysis and choice-based conjoint experiments and related estimation procedures.

Due to the often-intangible benefits of agroecosystem services (AES), their cultural, social, and economic value is very difficult to quantify and integrate into decision-making and policy-making processes. The aim of this study is to assess the non-market values of AES in an exceptionally environmentally rich area of the Warmia and Mazury region (Poland), identifying consumers&rsquo, preferences for them using the choice experiment (CE) method. Four AES attributes were selected for the research: (i) water quality, (ii) wildlife populations, and (iii) agricultural landscape. The study has revealed that the residents of Warmia and Mazury region were concerned about environmental issues that may be caused by agriculture. There was a demand for the provision of AES. The application of multinomial logit (MNL) model has revealed that marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) values were the highest for water quality (EUR 1.94), followed by wildlife population (EUR 1.02) and agricultural landscape (EUR 0.85). The findings have provided quantitative information related to the demand for improvements in AES through agri-environmental protection programs.

Background: The clinical and economic management of retinal diseases has become more complex following the introduction of new intravitreal treatments. Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) offers the potential to overcome the challenges associated with traditional decision-making tools. Objectives: A MCDA to determine the most relevant criteria to decision-making in the management of diabetic macular edema (DME) based on the perspectives of multiple stakeholders in Spain was developed. This MCDA was termed the MULTIDEX-EMD study. Methods: Nineteen stakeholders (7 physicians, 4 pharmacists, 5 health authorities and health management experts, 1 psychologist, and 2 patient representatives) participated in this three-phase project. In phase A, an advisory board defined all of the criteria that could influence DME treatment decision-making. These criteria were then screened using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) (phase B). Next, a multinomial logit model was fitted by applying the backward elimination algorithm (relevant criteria: p value < 0.05). Finally, the results were discussed in a deliberative process (phase C). Results: Thirty-one criteria were initially defined (phase A) and grouped into 5 categories: efficacy/effectiveness, safety, organizational and economic impact, patient-reported outcomes, and other therapeutic features. The DCE results (phase B) showed that 10 criteria were relevant to the decision-making process for a 50- to 65-year-old DME patient: mean change in best corrected visual acuity (p value < 0.001), percentage of patients with an improvement of ≥ 15 letters (p value < 0.001), effect duration per administration (p value = 0.008), retinal detachment (p value < 0.001), endophthalmitis (p value = 0.012), myocardial infarction (p value < 0.001), intravitreal hemorrhage (p value = 0.021), annual treatment cost per patient (p value = 0.001), health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (p value = 0.004), and disability level (p value = 0.021). Conclusions: From a multi-stakeholder perspective, the selection of an appropriate treatment for DME patients should guarantee patient safety and maximize the visual acuity improvement and treatment effect duration. It should also contribute to system sustainability by being affordable, it should have a positive impact on HRQoL, and it should prevent disability.

Background Forest residues can be a feasible alternative for converting energy into fuels, electricity, or heat. Compared to other second-generation bioenergy sources, they do not compete for food, are relatively cheap, abundant in forest-rich areas, and more importantly their energy balance is close to zero. Biomass estimations can help design energy strategies to reduce fossil fuels dependency. Because of the land property distribution in Mexico, biomass estimations should consider not only the physical availability, but also the willingness of landowners to extract such raw materials. Methods This study presents a methodological approach for evaluating the potential use of forest residues as a feedstock to generate bioenergy in northern Mexico. Remote sensing and field forest inventory were used to estimate the quantity and distribution of forest residues. In addition, a discrete choice analysis evaluated landowners’ preferences towards bioenergy development, including the most important factors that influence their willingness to extract their products and the expected price. Results and conclusions Considering both physical and socio-economic aspects, results showed that about 59,000 metric tons per year could be available in the study area. The vast majority of landowners surveyed are willing to extract forest residues, as long as they are presented with extraction plans with the highest income. However, many showed concerns about the environmental impacts this activity can have on soils, plants, and fauna. These results can help evaluate the potential of these resources for bioenergy development.

A tax-fund system has been proposed to advance Swedish forest conservation. We present a choice experiment with Swedish private forest owners on preferences for attributes of a tax-fund system. Focusing on three aspects: (i) freedom to choose set-asides, (ii) equity issues, and (iii) frequency of nature inventories, we find two groups of forest owners. The first is opposed to interventions that could curtail liberty and oppose frequent nature inventories, while a smaller group would derive positive utility from jointly deciding on the location of set-asides with society. Both groups have a preference for changing the current tax-base to soil productivity or timber volume. The tax-base chosen together with the modalities of re-distributing the funds will determine the program's efficiency. The paper concludes that a tax-fund system could indeed be a way forward but would need to be designed in a participatory manner to reconcile forest owners, forest industry representatives, and conservationists.

Taenia solium cysticercosis disease remains a key challenge to the pig sector in low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and South East Asia, resulting in both economic losses and public health impacts. The World Health Organization has ranked it first on the global scale of foodborne parasites. A One Health approach has been recommended for reduction of infection pressure and eradication in the longer term. A new vaccine TSOL18 (Cysvax™), applied in combination with oxfendazole (Paranthic 10%™), a dewormer drug has been developed and field tested for the control of T. solium cysticercosis, with high potential to break the disease cycle. It is however unclear whether the products can be marketed through a market driven approach, and if smallholder pig farmers would be willing to take up and pay for the vaccine–oxfendazole combination. A choice experiment methodology was used to assess the potential demand and willingness to pay for the vaccine—oxfendazole combination by Ugandan smallholder pig farmers, and demand for vaccinated pigs by pig traders. The results showed that farmers highly valued quality assurance attributes and were not keen on the vaccine if there were no associated returns in the form of premium price for vaccinated pigs during sales. They were willing to pay US$ 2.31 for the vaccine if it resulted in a premium price for vaccinated pigs. Furthermore, they preferred an accompanying vaccine viability detector as part of its quality assurance. The pig traders on the other hand preferred high carcass weight of pigs, potentially achieved by using oxfendazole. The results show that unless the pig market systems pay a premium price for vaccinated pigs, and quality assurance systems guarantee quality vaccine, uptake of the TSOL18 vaccine and oxfendazole by farmers through market mechanisms may be unsuccessful. The current pig marketing system does not reward food safety, the focus is mainly on carcass weight. Alternative delivery mechanisms for the vaccine through a mix of private–public investments needs to be explored, as the benefits of vaccinated pigs are societal and include reduction and elimination of neurocysticercosis in the long run.

Undeveloped land adjacent to urban areas has a strong potential to generate high amenity values to urban dwellers via the adoption of environment-friendly agricultural practices. Yet, there is a lack of specific policy measures tailored to unlock such potential and a scant knowledge of the preferences of the main beneficiaries. Analysis of data from a Choice Experiment in the municipality of Milan based on current policy deliverables shows that a large share of the urban population is willing to pay for specific ecological benefits linked to agricultural practices. Organic farming and land strips sown with wildflowers are the two practices whose ecological benefits are found most desirable. Willingness to pay for a policy intervention is shown to significantly correlate with income class, with low income recipients being more interested in organic farming while those with middle or high income deriving higher benefits from planting fast-growing trees.

We conducted in-the-field choice experiments in China to investigate farmers' willingness to pay for crop insurance and to determine how objective and subjective beliefs affect Willingness to Pay (WTP). We deploy three variants of the choice experiment using a priming mechanism on objective and subjective beliefs plus a control. We find that the cuing frame matters in that there are differences in WTP within five attributes and across variants. In terms of practical policy, our results suggest that farmers' frame of reference toward objective and subjective risks can affect insurance demand.

This study represents a first analysis of citizens’ willingness to pay (WTP) for agroecosystem services in a Baltic country (Lithuania). Since it is part of the European Union, Lithuania applied environmental agriculture schemes to support the production of agroecosystem services by farmers. Therefore, understanding the demand of such services may help policy makers to allocate funds. This study revealed that Lithuanian residents are concerned about environmental problems that may be caused by agriculture. Moreover, while the provision of agroecosystem services is demanded, citizens show very different tastes concerning these services. The application of a latent class model highlights three groups of citizens with different tastes and levels of WTP. Among the ecosystem services tested, the landscape provisions show the highest level of heterogeneity across the class. This study’s findings provide quantitative information concerning the demand for improvements in agroecosystem services through agri-environmental protection programmes. The obtained data supports the conclusion that choice experiments are a reliable tool to analyse consumers’ preferences related to environmental protection in Lithuania.

This study focuses on the effects of spatial discounting and substitutes sites on the demand for ecosystem services (ES) provided by scattered agroecosystems. New ways of modelling these two effects are proposed, relying on area-based and density-based indices. Data from discrete choice experiments are used, based on a case study of Andalusian olive groves (southern Spain). The results show that model fit is significantly improved by the introduction of these spatial indices, with the best outcome found for the area-based index combined with the inverse of the distance. Results provide evidence of substantial spatial heterogeneity depending on the ES (carbon sequestration, soil conservation and biodiversity), indicating different economic jurisdictions.

Coastal zones are bearing the brunt of an increase in the likelihood of extreme events, coupled with sea-level rise (SLR). Conventionally, gray infrastructures, such as seawalls, have been constructed to reduce risks in limited coastal zone spaces. Nature-based approaches, known as green infrastructure, have been used in coastal defense, and their ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction functions (Eco-DRR) have received growing attention. However, both gray and green infrastructure alone have limitations in responding to an ongoing increase in the intensity and frequency of natural hazards. To overcome these issues, hybrid infrastructure, which combine gray and green components, is needed, and they have been receiving growing attention. Meanwhile, a large-scale coastal development requires stakeholder agreement, thus, it is imperative to understand people’s demands and build a consensus between municipalities and coastal citizens in coastal development for long-term resilience. The author administered the online survey across Japan, applying it to the choice experiment, and obtained 840 valid responses. Therefore, this paper clarified the heterogeneities in coastal people’s preferences for coastal ecosystem services provided by gray, green, and hybrid structures in intertidal zones in Japan, recognizing seawalls as gray and coastal pine forests as green infrastructure. Consequently, while coastal citizens acknowledged gray’s coastal defense function, the diverse perceptions toward seawalls for SLR preparation were notable as its scenarios became severe. Another remarkable finding is that nearly 60% of respondents preferred Eco-DRR functions provided by coastal forests with JPY 695 in willingness-to-pay for expanding 100 m in width, even though there are uncertainties in their performances.

Much of the so-called ‘wild’ or ‘game’ meat bought these days is actually farmed (not hunted), and current legislation does not require marketers to reveal the production method. What would consumers make of this distinction if they knew? We explore the roles of objective and subjective prior knowledge in determining consumer preferences for wild boar (Sus scrofa) sausage produced using meat from hunting, farming or an unspecified production method. A discrete choice experiment that includes two tests and corresponding self-evaluations reveals that farmed meat is the most preferred type, closely followed by hunted meat, while meat from an unspecified production method is clearly the least preferred. Objective knowledge about hunting is positively related to preferences for hunted meat, while the opposite is true for the effect of prior knowledge about farming on preferences for farmed meat. Finally, subjective knowledge is not a reliable predictor of preferences for either hunted or farmed meat.

In this study we aim at exploring consumer valuation for craft beer brewed locally and made with locally grown hops. The research is motivated by the fact that, although existing literature shows that consumers generally pay a price premium for locally produced foods or those made with local ingredients, it is still unclear how consumers value localness of production (i.e., brewing location) over localness of inputs (i.e., hops origin) and whether consumers value these attributes as either complements or substitutes. Moreover, little is still known regarding consumer preference for local ingredients in beer. Thus, we address these research questions by means of a choice experiment survey on craft beer consumers in the State of Indiana, United States. Results show that consumers have the highest willingness to pay for craft beer brewed in-state, but preferences over hops origin are heterogeneous. We find evidence of complementarity between brewing and hops origins among frequent craft drinkers and evidence of substitution between these claims for casual drinkers. Segmenting consumers based on how they define local beer, we find one consumer segment that has the highest willingness to pay for beer brewed in-state and made with hops that are grown in-state. These results can inform product differentiation, marketing, and pricing strategies. They are also relevant to state policymakers supporting local hops production and local brewing.

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) is an alternative to the monoculture of fin fish species, in which several species are combined in the production process. This can have environmental advantages such as a lower environmental impact through nutrient cycling and natural filters, and can have economic advantages consisting of increased efficiency, product diversification and potential price premiums. In this paper, a choice experiment (CE) was conducted through an online survey in Ireland, the UK, Italy, Israel and Norway, to assess how the public makes decisions on what type of salmon or sea bream to buy based on the attributes of the product. Analysis assessed the Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) for more sustainable produced seafood using a Latent Class multinomial logit modelling approach. In the experiment, an ecolabel was used to distinguish between regularly produced (monoculture) products and sustainably produced (IMTA) products. The general public in each country showed a positive attitude towards the development of such an ecolabel and towards the payment of a price premium for the more sustainably produced salmon or sea bream.

Žemės ūkis kuria prekines ir neprekines gėrybes, kurių pasiūla priklauso nuo gamybos specifikos. Lietuvos atveju, žemės ūkio kaip ekonominės veiklos vaidmuo yra labai svarbus ne tik dėl kuriamos produkcijos, bet ir įvertinant tai, kad žemės ūkio paskirties žemė užima daugiau nei pusę Lietuvos teritorijos. Tačiau agroekosistemose kuriami teigiami ir neigiami išoriniai efektai nėra apskaitomi rinkoje. Žemės ūkio viešųjų gėrybių vertei nustatyti gali būti naudojami specifiniai metodai, pavyzdžiui, pareikšto prioriteto metodai. Užsienio mokslininkai atlieka išsamius tyrimus vertindami neprekinę žemės ūkio produkciją, dažniausiai jie koncentruojasi į žemės ūkio veiklos naudos arba žalos nustatymą. Pasigendama kompleksinio ūkininkavimo sistemų rezultatų vertinimo, atsižvelgiant į ūkininkavimo specifiką ir intensyvumą. Pagrindinis šio straipsnio tikslas – pristatyti ūkininkavimo sistemų produkcijos kompleksinio vertinimo metodologiją Lietuvoje, pagrindinį dėmesį skiriant viešųjų gėrybių vertinimui. Lietuvos atvejo analizei pasirinktos tradicinio ir ekologinio ūkininkavimo sistemos. Tyrimas aprėpia dvi ūkininkavimo sistemas, t. y. augalininkystę (įskaitant grūdinius ir pramoninius augalus) ir gyvulininkystę (įskaitant pieno gamybą ir galvijininkystę). Straipsnyje pagrindžiamas pasirinkimo eksperimentų metodo tinkamumas įvairių Lietuvos ūkininkavimo sistemų teikiamų viešųjų gėrybių vertei nustatyti. Žemės ūkio viešųjų gėrybių vertės ekonometriniam modeliavimui buvo pasirinktas „Nested logit“ metodas. Pagal sukurtą ir patikrintą metodiką pagrindiniame tyrime bus nustatytas polinkis mokėti už įvairių ūkininkavimo sistemų teikiamas viešąsias gėrybes. Agriculture produces jointly market and non-market outputs, and their supply depends on the nature of production. The role of agriculture as an economic activity and its consequences are essential for the Lithuanian case study, as agricultural land covers more than a half of the Lithuanian land. The market does not consider the positive and negative externalities created in agroecosystems. Therefore, specific techniques such as stated preferences methods are used for evaluation of non-market outputs in agriculture. Works by foreign researchers provide a comprehensive analysis of the aspects of nontradable agricultural aspects, usually focusing on evaluation of the benefit or damage to society from agricultural activity. There is lack of an integrated evaluation of farming system outputs in view of the specifics and intensity of farming. The main aim of this paper is to present construction of the methodology for integration of evaluation of farming system outputs in Lithuania, with the main focus on non-market outputs, as the values of agricultural market outputs are clear and fully revealed in official statistics. The conventional and organic farming has been selected for the Lithuanian case study. For the both farming systems, the research covers crops (including both cereals and industrials crops) and livestock (including dairy and cattle) production. The choice experiment (CE) method was selected as appropriate for evaluation of non-market outputs of different farming systems in Lithuanian agriculture. The nested logit was selected for econometric modelling of the value of non-market agricultural outputs. Applying the constructed and checked methodology, consumers’ willingness to pay for agroecosystem public goods of different farming systems will be elicited during the main survey.

Thailand has become one of the biggest exporters of agricultural products and the majority of the poor households rely on agriculture as their main source of income. Recent droughts and flooding have affected the agricultural farms especially in the upland areas of northern Thailand. Incentive based policies can play an important role in conservation and protection of agroecosystems. Hence, this paper applies a Choice Experiment approach to elicit small scale farmers’ preferences for a potential payment policy scheme. Latent class models were used to analyse the farmers’ responses to investigate their preferences, heterogeneity in preferences and the willingness to accept compensations. The results reveal that farmers are willing to participate in the proposed payment for ecosystem services (PES) scheme; however, overall the farmers show an aversion to drastic changes in their farming activities. The analysis suggests that majority of the farmers prefer schemes which require moderate reduction in chemical use and have shorter contract lengths. Furthermore, the study also provides cost comparisons of various policy combinations and variation in spatial patterns of the welfare estimates, which are useful for identifying the target areas for effective implementation of policy schemes.

Contemporary production and consumption are often characterised by negative externalities, for example regarding animal welfare. Despite consumer concerns about animal welfare standards in livestock production systems, the market share of organic meat is still low. The current paper investigates to what extent a more differentiated product assortment including “compromise alternatives”, providing consumers with more options to trade-off animal welfare against other attributes, increases the choice share of meat produced at beyond-regulatory standards for animal welfare. Results from a choice experiment in The Netherlands reveal considerable heterogeneity in consumer preferences regarding the trade-off between animal welfare level and price level. Two out of six segments, typically consumers with a lower education level and shoppers at discount supermarkets, are not or hardly prepared to pay a price premium for welfare enhanced meat. Two other segments show a preference for small increases in animal welfare level and associated costs. The remaining two other segments seem to reflect “protestors” against mainstream meat production in that they hold negative attitudes, beliefs and feelings regarding the consumption of conventionally-produced meat, either by turning to meat produced at high animal welfare standards (including meat replacement products) or by reducing meat consumption. It is concluded that an assortment that better caters for this heterogeneity in consumer preference by including “compromise meat products” is of the benefit to both the individual consumer (preferences), the animal (animal welfare levels) and the meat sector (clientele).

A loss of memory of past environmental degradation has resulted in shifted historical baselines, which may result in conservation and restoration goals that are less ambitious than if stakeholders had a full knowledge of ecosystem potential. However, the link between perception of baseline states and support for conservation planning has not been tested empirically. Here, we investigate how perceptions of change in coral reef ecosystems affect stakeholders’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the establishment of protected areas. Coral reefs are experiencing rapid, global change that is observable by the public, and therefore are an ideal ecosystem to test links between beliefs about baseline states and willingness to support conservation. We find that respondents perceived change to coral reef communities across six variables: coral abundance, fish abundance, fish diversity, fish size, sedimentation, and water pollution. Residents who accurately perceived declines in reef health had significantly higher WTP for protected areas (US $256.80 vs. $102.50 per year), suggesting that shifted historical baselines reduce engagement with conservation efforts. If WTP translates to engagement, this suggests that goals for restoration and recovery are likely to be more ambitious if the public is aware of long term change. Therefore, communicating the scope and depth of environmental problems is essential in engaging the public in conservation.

The aim of this work is to outline how research conducted in the area of consumer science (CS) can guide the marketing strategies of a medium-sized dairy interested in relaunching its traditional Italian dairy product. The subject of the study is the Pecorino cheese produced by the Cooperative Grifo Latte, which has all its plants in Umbria (central Italy). A decrease in Pecorino cheese sales suggested to the Cooperative to undertake “Actions to support the commercialization of Pecorino cheeses” as part of an integrated project for the production chain named “Grifo Latte.” Market research began from these results and set out to respond to precise questions identified by the Grifo marketing manager in collaboration with university researchers, who conducted the investigation: “What interest and perception do Umbrian consumers have of traditional Pecorino cheeses and Pecorino with health benefits?” “What reputation do Grifo cheeses have with Umbrian consumers?” “What is the trade-off between the trademark of protected designated origin (PDO) and the Grifo trademark?” The technique of choice experiments was used.

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) has been put forward as a potential sustainable alternative to single fin fish species aquaculture. In IMTA, several species are combined in the production process. Integrating species has a conceivable dual advantage; the environmental impact can be lowered through nutrient cycling and from an economic perspective there is potential for increased efficiency, product diversification and a higher willingness to pay for more environmentally friendly produced salmon. This paper presents the results from a choice experiment which examines whether the Irish public is willing to pay a premium for “sustainably produced” farmed salmon from an IMTA process. Uniquely, an ecolabel was used in the design, based on familiar energy rating labels, to communicate the environmental pressure of fish farming to respondents. The experiment demonstrates that the Irish public has a willingness to pay a price premium for sustainability in salmon farming and for locally produced salmon. Postprint

A choice experiment was used to assess households’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for informational attributes (sources of water used to rear fish, and certification) of fish products in Hanoi, Vietnam. The study showed that households’ purchasing decisions are influenced by their access to information of food product attributes and ascribe an economic value to it. The results indicated that households are willing to pay 51% (USD 1.11 per kg) above the prevailing market price of fish for information to know if wastewater is used to rear the fish they consume. Similarly, they are willing to pay 20% above the prevailing market price of fish (USD 0.43 per kg) to know if freshwater is used as a rearing medium. It is important to note that the increased marginal WTP is for information on whether the fish they consume is raised in wastewater over freshwater. This supports the notion of households’ concern over the safety of consuming wastewater-raised fish. Households are also willing to pay 65% (USD 1.42 per kg) above the prevailing market price for certified fish. Based on the cost of fish certification and WTP estimates, we found a total economic benefit of USD 172 million for the implementation of a wastewater-raised fish business model in Hanoi. The demand for wastewater-raised fish is likely to be affected by households’ perception of certification by a trusted government agency, source of water used to raise the fish, age, income and household size.

With liberalization in 1998, numerous firms have entered the German retail electricity market, including newly formed consumer cooperatives. Based on Transaction Cost Economics, we develop a theoretical framework seeking to explain preferences for electricity supplied by cooperatives from a consumer perspective. Drawing on a convenience sample of 287 German electricity consumers and Choice Experiment data from an online survey, we estimate Willingness-to-Pay values for organizational attributes of electricity suppliers, while accounting for observed and unobserved heterogeneity. Consumers in the sample exhibit a large Willingness-to-Pay for renewable energy. Our results also indicate a substantial Willingness-to-Pay for transparent pricing, participation in decision making, and local suppliers. Democratic decision making – a distinct feature of cooperatives – exhibits positive Willingness-to-Pay values for approximately one fifth of the sample. Taken together, our findings suggest a slightly higher Willingness-to-Pay for electricity produced by cooperatives. Limitations of applied sampling and other important aspects of energy transition are also discussed.

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the relationship between consumer demand for enhanced food safety features and regional identification of food amongst consumers across Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the choice experiment method to determine preferences for food testing standards, traceability standards, health and welfare standards, region of origin and price. Findings – The results show that substantial differences exist in preferences for the features between consumers in both countries. In addition, while stark differences are apparent between the two countries, in their preferences for food originating from their local region, the results suggest that consumers perceive significant substitutability between the enhanced safety features and the local regional label in both countries. Originality/value – This paper provides a unique insight into preferences for a wide range of enhanced food safety features amongst consumers in these two countries. This is the first study to undertake a comparison of these countries using the choice experiment method. In addition, the paper provides a thorough overview of how consumers perceive the relationship between enhanced safety features and region of origin of food.

Energy performance in buildings has become a milestone in EU environmental policy in the last 15 years. Nonetheless, in some countries such as Spain the full acceptance of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is still relatively rare and novel, with little evidence as to how relevant it is in the real estate market. There are different reasons for this phenomenon: on the one hand, the real estate crisis has paralyzed the completion of most of the works in new/refurbished efficient buildings (which renders it impossible to use revealed preference methods); on the other hand, information is not complete and the consumer’s perception of the relevant cost/benefits could be incorrect. For this reason, assessing the trade-off between the energy label and other specific attributes of the housing market has become important. To that end, a choice experiment following an RPL (Random Parameter Logit) model was employed. This form is suitable to accommodate various empirical situations where the assumptions of the Conditional Logit model have to be relaxed. Results suggest that the Energy Label (EL) does matter in the real estate market in relation to other residential attributes. Marginal willingness to pay for an “A” label instead of an “E” is significantly higher than the stated savings in energy costs. The respondents’ utility function seems to be also influenced by their educational level, as well as by their preference to own a house as opposed to renting it.

Localisation : Centre de documentation P. Bartoli (S WPL 2016-07), UMR LAMETA, Montpellier; In the economic literature on the motivations underlying voluntary contributions to environmental public goods, little attention is granted to the way the overall objective of the environmental program is framed. A program which contributes to an increase of environmental quality can be perceived differently from a program designed to bring back the environmental quality to its original level, after it was damaged by human intervention, even if net environmental gain is equivalent in both programs. How does it impact participation rates and contribution levels? This paper addresses this issue in the context of agri-environmental contracts for biodiversity conservation. It compares farmers' willingness to participate in two equivalent agri-environmental schemes, one being framed as part of a biodiversity offset program, the other one as a biodiversity conservation program. We demonstrate with a discrete choice experiment that biodiversity –offsets programs must offer a greater payment to enroll farmers compared to the latter. This is explained by the sensitivity of farmers to environmental issues.

To understand the market for sustainable foods, it is important to allow for heterogeneous preferences. However, most studies of consumer preferences for sustainable foods only investigate average consumer preferences. They do not take into account that some consumer segments attempt to purchase as much sustainable food as possible, others are indifferent to the notion of sustainable food, and still others consider sustainable food a complete hoax. The aim of this study is to explore the preferences for various types of premium eggs across these three consumer segments. We conduct a choice experiment including nine hundred Norwegian consumers and perform a behavioral segmentation based on the frequency of organic food purchase. We find that the segment purchasing the most organic food is willing to pay a significant premium for organic eggs over eggs displaying only enhanced animal welfare. However, most consumers who occasionally purchase organic products are unwilling to pay more for organic eggs than for enhanced animal welfare eggs, suggesting diminishing marginal utility for additional attributes. We find the third consumer segment attempts to avoid organic eggs, even when they cost the same as other eggs. Our findings suggest that organic products will be unsuccessful in acquiring larger market shares as long as most consumers are unwilling to pay a premium for organic products with all their cost increasing sustainable attributes over products that have only a single sustainable attribute, in our case enhanced animal welfare. The Foundation for Research Levy on Agricultural Products (FFL) and the Agricultural Agreement Research Fund (JA) through Norwegian Research Council in Norway (project no. 190424) funded the data collection.

The aim of this paper is to elicit the marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for the improved provision of public goods (PGs) by agriculture in a region of intensive agricultural production, embodying many of the environmental problems related to agriculture within and outside the European Union (EU). Our analysis was based on a participatory approach, combining the involvement of local stakeholders and a discrete choice experiment (DCE) in the Marchfeld region in Austria. We estimated a random parameters logit model (RPL), including interactions with socio-demographic factors, to disentangle preference heterogeneity and find a positive MWTP of the local population for all three PGs analyzed: (i) groundwater quality, (ii) landscape quality, and (iii) soil functionality in connection with climate stability. Furthermore, MWTP varies considerably with respect to age, farmers/non-farmers and locals/incomers. Further research could combine the results of this demand-side valuation with those of a supply-side valuation, where the opportunity costs of different management options for farmers are estimated. Based on such a cost&ndash, benefit analysis and further participation of local stakeholders, new governance mechanisms for the smart and sustainable provision of PGs by agriculture could be developed for the Marchfeld region and for comparable European regions.

"Providing compensation for land conservation practices adopted by upstream farmers is still an alien concept in the Thai political context. The governance of common-pool natural resources, such as forest and water, has traditionally been under the control of powerful government line agencies, while the contribution of local communities to natural resource conservation have been hardly recognized by policy-makers. Drawing on a case study in Mae Sa watershed, Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, this paper discusses the potential of developing compensation schemes in a socio-political context where upland farmers --mostly belonging to ethnic minority groups -- tend to be considered a threat to the natural resource base rather than providers of environmental services. Based on data obtained from 371 farm households in the upstream communities and 151 farm households in the downstream communities of the watershed, upstream resource managers' willingness to accept compensation for the conservation measures and downstream resource managers' willingness to pay for water resource improvements were estimated through the use of choice experiments. Results from the study suggest that downstream resource managers would be willing to provide on average nearly 1% of their annual income for a substantial improvement of the quantity and quality of water resources, which could be achieved by compensating upstream farmers' change of their agricultural systems towards more environment-friendly practices. Both willingness to pay of downstream respondents and willingness of upstream resource managers to accept compensation were positively correlated with age, education, participation in environmental conservation activities and previous experiences with droughts and/or erosion. The paper concludes that there is a potential for establishing compensation schemes for provision of environmental services in northern Thai watersheds if other actors, such as private businesses and local administration, contribute a substantial share of the budget and if all relevant stakeholders get involved in the institutional design of compensation schemes."

As a renewable energy source, the use of forest biomass for electricity generation is advantageous in comparison with fossil fuels; however, the activity of forest biomass power plants causes adverse impacts, affecting particularly neighbouring communities. The main objective of this study is to estimate the effects of the activity of forest biomass power plants on the welfare of two groups of stakeholders, namely local residents and the general population. To this end, we apply two stated preference methods: contingent valuation and discrete choice experiments, respectively. The former method was applied to estimate the minimum compensation residents of neighbouring communities of two forest biomass power plants in Portugal would be willing to accept. The latter method was applied among the general population to estimate their willingness to pay to avoid specific environmental impacts. The results show that the presence of the selected facilities affects individuals’ well-being. On the other hand, in the discrete choice experiments conducted among the general population all impacts considered were valued, in particular odour and fauna and flora impacts. The results of this study stress the importance of performing an equity analysis of the welfare effects on different groups of stakeholders from the installation of forest biomass power plants, as their effects on welfare are location and impact specific. Policy makers should take into account the views of all stakeholders either directly or indirectly involved when deciding crucial issues regarding the sitting of new forest biomass power plants, in order to achieve an efficient and equitable outcome, The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from FCT Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia with Grant Number PTDC/EGE-ECO/122402/2010.

For optimal solutions in health care, decision makers inevitably must evaluate trade-offs, which call for multi-attribute valuation methods. Researchers have proposed using best-worst scaling (BWS) methods which seek to extract information from respondents by asking them to identify the best and worst items in each choice set. While a companion paper describes the different types of BWS, application and their advantages and downsides, this contribution expounds their relationships with microeconomic theory, which also have implications for statistical inference. This article devotes to the microeconomic foundations of preference measurement, also addressing issues such as scale invariance and scale heterogeneity. Furthermore the paper discusses the basics of preference measurement using rating, ranking and stated choice data in the light of the findings of the preceding section. Moreover the paper gives an introduction to the use of stated choice data and juxtaposes BWS with the microeconomic foundations.

In an effort to improve productivity and profits, many farmers have replaced traditional livestock breeds with higher yielding alternatives. While such changes may bring about short-term economic gains, the loss of traditional livestock breeds could result in the loss of an important genetic resource as a variety of important genetic traits adapted to local conditions gradually become less common in the population. This is a particular problem in Africa, where livestock make a substantial contribution to human livelihoods. Using the example of cattle in Kenya's pastoral livestock markets this study uses a choice experiment approach to investigate buyers' preferences for indigenous breeds such as the Maasai Zebu. The analysis employs a latent class approach to characterize heterogeneity in valuations both within and across respondents buying cattle for breeding, slaughter, or resale. The results show that there are at least three classes of buyers with distinct preferences for cattle traits and that most buyers favor exotic rather than indigenous breeds. Such preferences have implications for the conservation of indigenous cattle in Kenya and in other developing countries and suggest that some form of intervention may be required to ensure the preservation of this important animal genetic resource.

This paper examines public preferences on siting landfills using a choice experiment. A choice experiment is a method that elicits public preferences directly through questionnaires. This paper focuses on possible negative effects of a hypothetical landfill siting on residents who are assumed to live around the landfill. The results of this analysis clearly show that the residents evaluate accepting waste originating from outside their community quite negatively, especially industrial waste originating from the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Large external costs also are seen for siting landfills near areas that are sources of drinking water. In addition, the results show that the NIMBY syndrome of the residents weakens as the hypothetical landfill site is farther away. Considering three hypothetical siting plans, external costs based on public preferences are estimated. The social costs, which are the sum of the private costs and external costs, are then calculated. The results of the case study indicate that the option with the lowest private cost it is not always the option with the lowest social cost.

This paper uses Choice Experiments (CE) to investigate Spanish consumers' preferences towards beef meat enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 and conjugated linoleic acid). Data were gathered from self-completed questionnaires in a controlled environment with two different samples (320 and 322 consumers) differentiated by the information received. The surveys were carried out in three main Spanish cities (Barcelona, Zaragoza and Pamplona), representing the average consumer. A variation of the “Dual Response Choice Experiments” (DRCE) design was used due to its ability to emphasize the purchase context. Results showed that consumers who received information attach higher preference for enriched meat with polyunsaturated fatty acids. The utility associated with the higher content of fat increase for informed consumers, showing a substitute effect. Informed consumers are willing to accept meat with a higher amount of visible fat if it is enriched with beneficial fatty acids.

International audience; This article examines farmers' preferences for both cropping and management practices, which are of policy interest because of their environmental impact. We present the results of a choice experiment survey of all agricultural decision makers in the Camargue region. A latent class model identified three classes. The main class encompasses farmers complying with the norms of the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI): Riz de Camargue. We estimated the monetary value of each of the relevant agricultural practices. Our results make a strong case for differentiating incentives to encourage environmentally friendly practices and identify the diversity of values attached to the main components of rice cropping technology in the area. Estimates of the implicit prices indicate that most rice growers can be persuaded to adopt environmentally friendly practices. These findings could help in designing targeted contracts according to farmers' preferences, in line with conservation or environmental objectives.

After 40 years of deriving metric values for health status or health-related quality of life, the effective quantification of subjective health outcomes is still a challenge. Here, two of the best measurement tools, the discrete choice and the Rasch model, are combined to create a new model for deriving health values. First, existing techniques to value health states are briefly discussed followed by a reflection on the recent revival of interest in patients' experience with regard to their possible role in health measurement. Subsequently, three basic principles for valid health measurement are reviewed, namely unidimensionality, interval level, and invariance. In the main section, the basic operation of measurement is then discussed in the framework of probabilistic discrete choice analysis (random utility model) and the psychometric Rasch model. It is then shown how combining the main features of these two models yields an integrated measurement model, called the multi-attribute preference response (MAPR) model, which is introduced here. This new model transforms subjective individual rank data into a metric scale using responses from patients who have experienced certain health states. Its measurement mechanism largely prevents biases such as adaptation and coping. Several extensions of the MAPR model are presented. The MAPR model can be applied to a wide range of research problems. If extended with the self-selection of relevant health domains for the individual patient, this model will be more valid than existing valuation techniques.

The introduction of new products on the market poses several challenges; in particular, whether the characteristics of the proposed product will be judged positively by potential consumers. This paper analyses the preferences of consumers regarding the introduction on the Italian market of a new product: organic Mediterranean sea bass. The aim of this study is to assess the importance given by consumers to four main characteristics of sea bass (country of origin, size, production method - organic or conventional - and price) so as to be able to formulate marketing strategies. We applied a choice experiment (CE) in order to define not only the ordinal ranking of preferences but also the willingness to pay (WTP) for the key characteristics of the newly-introduced product. We found that consumers show a higher WTP for the sea bass country of origin than for the breeding method used. Our results suggest that while organic aquaculture might be a new and important strategy for diversification, if suitable communication, either from a public policy or commercial perspective, and labelling/certification are not taken into consideration, the added value of the production method might not be perceived by the final consumers.

One of the main problems that public institutions face in the management of protected areas, such as the European Natura 2000 network, is determining how to design and implement sustainable management plans that account for the wide range of marketed and non-marketed benefits they provide to society. This paper presents an application of a stated preference valuation approach aimed at evaluating the social preferences of the population of the Basque Country, Spain, for the key attributes of a regional Natura 2000 network site. According to our results, individuals’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) is higher for attributes associated with non-use values (native tree species and biodiversity conservation) than for attributes associated with use values (agricultural development and commercial forestry). The paper concludes that management policies related to Natura 2000 network sites should account for both for the importance of non-use values and the heterogeneity of the population's preferences in order to minimize potential land use conflicts. Financial support received from the Department of Education of the Basque Government through grant IT-334-07 (UPV/EHU Econometrics Research Group) and funding provided by IHOBE (Basque Environmental Agency) through the research project coded as OTRI 2008.0101 (UPV/EHU).

This paper presents a choice experiment analyzing the consumers' preferences towards a policy for replacing conventional electricity with electricity generated from forest biomass. The results show that consumers specially prefer the effects related to the lower risk of forest fires and to the decrease in pressure on non-renewable resources. The article also presents a methodological test in relation to the payment timeframe and its effect on marginal willingness to pay and consistency of responses using choice experiments. The most frequent and realistic payments are associated with lower presence of inconsistent responses. Finally, we cannot reject the null hypothesis of no effects of payment timeframe on marginal willingness to pay. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

In this study, we used choice experiment data to analyze the accuracy of benefit transfer (BT) between two case study areas in Sweden for attributes relevant to the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive and special consideration zones in marine areas. The accuracy and reliability of a BT based on a model including only easily available socioeconomic information is similar to the accuracy of a BT based on a model that gives the best statistical fit, but requires time-consuming data collection. Further, the former model has almost as good a fit as the latter. The BT error varies significantly across the attributes, regardless of which model is used. The results are inconclusive as to whether socioeconomic adjustments improve transfer or not.

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires coastal water quality to be classified according to ecological indicators. In this paper, contingent valuation is used to estimate the value of improving the water quality status according to this classification, investigating if this type of holistic political-ecological measure can be related to and valued in monetary terms by the general public. A web-based survey was conducted in two study areas on the Swedish East and West coast. The paper focuses on eutrophication effects, such as bad water clarity, a decrease of bladder wrack stands and algae mats. These water quality elements affect recreational use of coastal areas. Relating to recreational use, two other environmental attributes are addressed – algae blooms and protection of marine areas in terms of e.g. restrictions for boat traffic. The restrictions scenario is also holistic in terms of several imposed restrictions, as well as tightly linked with existing policy. Conducting valuation studies based on a policy-determined measure is beneficial for decisionmakers but also for research e.g. in terms of data availability. It is concluded that these politically defined measures seem to work well as a basis for economic valuation. The respondents are in general both able to understand and to put a monetary value to the measures. This is an important first step, paving the ground for further studies. The monthly mean household WTP between the years 2010 – 2029 ranges from 61 to 108 SEK for improved water quality, from 54 to 84 SEK for less algae blooms and from 32 to 50 SEK for less noise and littering. Regarding noise and littering in archipelago areas in Northern Europe, this is to our knowledge the first WTP estimate that has been presented. The respondents from the East coast region express relatively high mean WTP values compared to the respondents on the West coast for all scenarios. The differences in mean WTP values between the study areas, which are reflected in the transfer errors, indicate that even though the coasts are similar in terms of use and environmental problems, and the respondents have many similar characteristics, a point estimate benefit transfer between the two coasts is not recommended unless high transfer errors are acceptable. WTP is affected by gender, membership of an NGO, whether or not the respondent has children, whether or not the respondent has a foreign background, frequency of visiting the area and whether or not the respondent uses a boat with an engine effect of more than 10 hp while visiting the area.

The mixed or heterogeneous multinomial logit (MIXL) model has become popular in a number of fields, especially marketing, health economics, and industrial organization. In most applications of the model, the vector of consumer utility weights on product attributes is assumed to have a multivariate normal (MVN) distribution in the population. Thus, some consumers care more about some attributes than others, and the IIA property of multinomial logit (MNL) is avoided (i.e., segments of consumers will tend to switch among the subset of brands that possess their most valued attributes). The MIXL model is also appealing because it is relatively easy to estimate. Recently, however, some researchers have argued that the MVN is a poor choice for modelling taste heterogeneity. They argue that much of the heterogeneity in attribute weights is accounted for by a pure scale effect (i.e., across consumers, all attribute weights are scaled up or down in tandem). This implies that choice behaviour is simply more random for some consumers than others (i.e., holding attribute coefficients fixed, the scale of their error term is greater). This leads to a “scale heterogeneity” MNL model (S-MNL). Here, we develop a generalized multinomial logit model (G-MNL) that nests S-MNL and MIXL. By estimating the S-MNL, MIXL, and G-MNL models on 10 data sets, we provide evidence on their relative performance. We find that models that account for scale heterogeneity (i.e., G-MNL or S-MNL) are preferred to MIXL by the Bayes and consistent Akaike information criteria in all 10 data sets. Accounting for scale heterogeneity enables one to account for “extreme” consumers who exhibit nearly lexicographic preferences, as well as consumers who exhibit very “random” behaviour (in a sense we formalize below).

"Choice Experiments in Developing Countries" is an invaluable one-stop presentation of the best-practice case studies implementing the choice experiment method in developing countries. It highlights the theoretical and practical issues that should be taken into consideration when applying this method in a developing country context. The expert contributors gather recent state-of-the-art choice experiment studies undertaken in several developing countries, in Africa, Asia, Latin American and the Caribbean. These focus on a variety of environmental and agricultural issues, underlining the versatility of this method in valuing a wide array of interventions (for example policies, public and private services, new technologies) and emphasizing the value of the method in informing efficient, effective and equitable policies for sustainable economic development. This work will be of great interest to academics and researchers of environmental economics, agricultural and resource economics, development, environmental management and planning, as well as national and international development agencies and NGOs. Civil servants and policymakers in developing countries will find the work and recommendations within this book engaging and inspirational.

Food safety concerns have had dramatic impacts on food and livestock markets in recent years. We examine consumer preferences for beef steak food safety assurances. We evaluate the extent to which preferences are heterogeneous within and across country-of-residence defined groups and examine the distributional nature of preferences with respect to marginal improvements in food safety. Using mixed logit models, we find that consumers in Canada, Japan, Mexico, and the United States have willingness to pay preferences that are nonlinear in the level of food safety risk reduction. In particular, consumers in Japan and Mexico have preferences that are convex and consumers in Canada and the United States have preferences concave in the level of food safety enhancement. Les inquiétudes entourant la sécurité alimentaire ont eu des répercussions considérables sur le marché du bétail et le marché des aliments au cours des derni`eres années. Nous avons examiné les préférences des consommateurs concernant l’assurance de la sécurité alimentaire de la viande de boeuf. Nous avons évalué dans quelle mesure les préférences des consommateurs étaient hétérog`enes au sein de groupes établis selon le pays de résidence et entre ces groupes, et avons examiné la nature distributionnelle des préférences à l’égard des améliorations marginales de la sécurité alimentaire. L’utilisation de modèles logit mixtes nous a permis d’établir que la volonté de payer des consommateurs du Canada, du Japon, du Mexique et des États-Unis étaient non linéaires lorsqu’il était question de diminuer le degré de risque concernant la sécurité alimentaire. Les préférences des consommateurs du Japon et du Mexique étaient convexes, tandis que celles des consommateurs du Canada et des États-Unis étaient concaves lorsqu’il était question d’accroître le niveau de sécurité alimentaire

Consumers in modern societies are increasingly sensitive to environmental performance by large and small corporations, making it a crucial issue in the overall policy of corporate social responsibility. The objective of this paper is to study the role of environmental performance in the profile of corporate social responsibility as perceived by consumers. We utilize a stated preference approach to the study of consumer’s preferences. This approach allows for the evaluation in monetary terms of the trade-offs that individuals can make between various aspects of corporate policy decisions, including the extent of environmental performance. The data is modelled by means of a mixture heuristics approach that allows us to study the utilization of various decision rules in the choice of products with various degrees of environmental performance. The results show that the linear compensatory heuristic is the most extended across individuals and these subjects value most the policies concerned with environmental management. Those subjects opting for the non-compensatory decision rule tend to focus on the attribute of good labour relations as the most salient factor defining corporate social responsibility. In addition, policy measures are relatively more valued for some products rather than for others, suggesting that consumers discriminate between products when valuing companies’ environmental profiles.

The paper offers an innovative approach to valuation of biodiversity. Instead of the prevailing approach of using only one indicator of biodiversity (usually number of species) we provide evidence that it is possible to provide attributes describing complex characteristics of biodiversity based on sound ecological knowledge. We argue that our approach managed to value the multi-level changes in the biological diversity, by using the attributes which described structural, species and functional diversity at the same time. Our study shows that even complex indicators of multi-level biodiversity might be successfully communicated to respondents in a comprehensible and meaningful way. The empirical application of the method is provided based on a choice experiment study conducted in Białowieża Forest, Poland. The results underline the importance of using multi-level indicators and question the validity of only species-level indicators. Interestingly, the respondents appreciated passive protection regimes, resulting in preservation of natural ecological processes. In addition, the respondents seemed to be concerned about means, and not only about the results of protection programmes. Finally, some conclusions for future applications and policy making are drawn.

Livestock form key components of the livelihood strategies of many of the world's poorest people. However, despite the potential to alleviate poverty and improve food security through livestock development interventions, the lack of smallholders' participation in the planning and design of breeding programs has often been a major cause of the failure of such programs. Particularly in developing countries where livestock production is still mostly subsistence-oriented and livestock fulfil manifold functions a considerable number of livestock breeding programs have failed. The development of adequate tools to characterise these functions, bearing in mind that these are expressed only rarely in properly functioning markets, is therefore important. This paper seeks to advance the application of such methodologies to the smallholder pig sector in Vietnam. A choice experiment was applied across 140 households involved in pig breeding in order to assess farmers' preferences and the trade-offs for a list of adaptive and productive traits. These included growth, reproduction, disease resistance, feed requirements and appearance. The findings indicate that smallholders highly value both adaptive and performance traits, particularly in resource-driven (i.e. subsistence) production systems. Performance traits were more highly valued in the demand-driven (i.e. market-oriented) systems. These findings have implications for breeding program breed choice and breeding objectives.

A multi-attribute, stated-preference approach is used to value low and high impact actions on four major landscape components addressed by the Rural Environment Protection Scheme in Ireland. Several methodological issues are addressed: the use of prior beliefs on the relative magnitudes of parameters, standardized description of different levels of landscape improvements via image manipulation software, adoption of efficiency-increasing sequential experimental design, and sensitivity of benefit estimates to inclusion of responses from ‘‘irrational’’ respondents. Results suggest that Bayesian design updating delivers significant efficiency gains without loss in respondent efficiency, and estimates are upward-biased when irrational respondents are included.

This paper studies the preferences of tourists visiting the island of Sardinia (Italy), by means of a choice modelling approach. The focus is on some specific demand-enhancing effects which should confirm the feasibility of implementing sustainable tourism policies. Multinomial logit estimations reveal the strong negative effects resulting from the congestion of tourist attractions and the major transformation of coastal environments. On the other hand, recreational services and the proximity of accommodation to the beaches also seem to be important. The computation of willingness to pay measures and choice probabilities for hypothetical destinations illustrate how this kind of approach can provide useful information in determining decision processes by policy makers and development agencies.

In this study we compare revealed and stated-preference approaches to value traits of cattle in Kenya. The premise is that much can be learnt about non-market values of indigenous animal genetic resources (AnGR) from the use of multi-attribute stated-preference methods, if these compare well with revealed-preference results. The objective is to investigate the performance of choice experiments (CEs) in Maasai cattle trading, by conducting an external test of preference consistency. We compare value estimates for cattle attributes from CEs data with those from hedonic analysis of actual transactions by the same population of traders, in the same markets and over the same period. If CEs perform well, they can be used to investigate values of those genetically-determined livestock traits currently not prominent in pastoralists' populations, but desirable candidates for breeding or conservation programmes (e.g. disease resistance). The results indicate that CE estimates pass the external test and appear to be adequately precise in estimating values for cattle traits that are relevant in market transactions for Maasai traders. Accounting for taste and variance heterogeneity does not change this conclusion. CEs may, therefore, be a promising tool for valuing phenotypic traits expressed by indigenous AnGR. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.