BLS Working Paper

BLS Working Paper PDF Author: Roger Von Haefen
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781491257890
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
This paper develops an approach to welfare measurement from random utility models (RUMs) that conditions on an individual's observed choice. The economic and statistical properties of the proposed conditional approach to welfare measurement are compared with the unconditional approaches developed by Small and Rosen [35] and Hanemann [16], and a subsample of the 1994 National Survey of Recreation and the Environment (NSRE) is used to illustrate its empirical implications. Conditional and unconditional welfare estimates for two policy scenarios and four repeated discrete choice specifications (e.g., Caulkins [10], Morey, Rowe, and Watson [28]) are presented. These estimates suggest that: 1) sample means of conditional and unconditional welfare estimates are qualitatively similar but often diverge by more a correctly specified model would predict; 2) the conditional estimates appear to be more robust across alternative model specifications; and 3) the distribution of benefits implied by the conditional and unconditional estimates are qualitatively different.

BLS Working Paper

BLS Working Paper PDF Author: Roger Von Haefen
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781491257890
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
This paper develops an approach to welfare measurement from random utility models (RUMs) that conditions on an individual's observed choice. The economic and statistical properties of the proposed conditional approach to welfare measurement are compared with the unconditional approaches developed by Small and Rosen [35] and Hanemann [16], and a subsample of the 1994 National Survey of Recreation and the Environment (NSRE) is used to illustrate its empirical implications. Conditional and unconditional welfare estimates for two policy scenarios and four repeated discrete choice specifications (e.g., Caulkins [10], Morey, Rowe, and Watson [28]) are presented. These estimates suggest that: 1) sample means of conditional and unconditional welfare estimates are qualitatively similar but often diverge by more a correctly specified model would predict; 2) the conditional estimates appear to be more robust across alternative model specifications; and 3) the distribution of benefits implied by the conditional and unconditional estimates are qualitatively different.

Incorporating Observed Choice Into the Construction of Welfare Measures from Random Utility Models

Incorporating Observed Choice Into the Construction of Welfare Measures from Random Utility Models PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Welfare economics
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Choice Set Formation and Its Implication for Welfare Measures in a Random Utility Model of Recreation Demand

Choice Set Formation and Its Implication for Welfare Measures in a Random Utility Model of Recreation Demand PDF Author: Georgi B. Spiridonov
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781124480039
Category : Beach closures
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The purpose of this dissertation is to study the specification of the choice set and its influence on the parameters of the utility function in a random utility model of recreation demand. In addition, the dissertation investigates the implications of the choice set specification for measuring welfare losses following beach closures. The random utility model is widely used in recreation demand modeling. It estimates the probability of visiting a site, conditional on the travel cost and the attractiveness of the site, as measured by the quantity and quality of its attributes. An index of the attractiveness of all sites in the choice set, called inclusive value, divided by the travel cost coefficient is a measure of the consumer surplus obtained from a choice situation. The random utility model is, therefore, widely used for measuring the welfare losses from closing a site or the welfare gains from quality improvements. I employ three sets of data. The University of Delaware designed an Internet-based survey of a random sample of households from the Mid-Atlantic region. Knowledge Network of Menlo Park, CA administered the survey. The survey collected data on historical beach visitation and, separately, on visitations in the 2005 beach season. In addition, the survey asked respondents about their familiarity with seven beach regions in the Mid-Atlantic. I also collected data on travel costs and beach characteristics. I estimate three random utility models with different specifications of the choice set based on the information about beach familiarity. A conventional random utility model estimated on the full choice set of 66 beaches serves as a baseline. Then, I fit a second conditional logit model estimated over only the set of familiar beaches. Finally, I estimate three mixed logit models with error components on the dummy variables for familiar and unfamiliar beaches. The mixed logit models differ in the level of completeness of the specification of the utility for unfamiliar beaches. The results from the baseline model are consistent with prior expectations. High travel costs, private beaches, beaches that allow vehicle access and beaches in New Jersey reduce the probability of visitation. This probability grows with beach length and width, the availability of commercial boardwalk, an amusement park, a park within the boundaries of the beach community, as well as the status of the beach as a state park. The coefficients on developed beaches and Atlantic City are also positive. Only one coefficient, that on the variable indicating good surfing conditions, is statistically insignificant. In the conditional logit model estimated over only the familiar beaches the implicit prices of several beach attributes fall significantly. This implies that the variables Atlantic City, length, private beach, park within, and beach width have a larger influence on choice set formation than on the utility of beachgoers. Once Atlantic City and larger beaches enter people's choice set, their effect on the probability of choice is significantly reduced. The mixed logit models find that the utilities of familiar beaches are correlated with each other. In other words, familiar beaches are close substitutes for each other, while unfamiliar beaches are not. If a familiar beach is closed, the welfare loss will be mitigated by the presence of close substitutes. The welfare losses from beach closure at less visited beaches tend to be driven by changes in the travel cost coefficient. A conditional logit model estimated over the full choice set will provide unbiased estimates of those losses. The tendency of losses to rise in choice set formation models relative to the baseline model, because a smaller number of substitutes are available, is not a simple function of beach familiarity, as is implied by the received literature. For example, a beach has a larger substitution effect, if a neighboring beach has a strong substitution effect. The substitution effect increases with the scale of beach closure. When closing individual beaches, in only about a third of beaches the losses are larger in the conditional logit model estimated over only the familiar beaches relative to the baseline model. When closing whole beach regions, the welfare losses from the choice set formation models always exceed the losses from the baseline model. Therefore, when evaluating large-scale events that result in closure of a group of beaches, a simple conditional logit model estimated over the full choice set will significantly underestimate the true losses.

Empirical Welfare Analysis in Random Utility Models of Labour Supply

Empirical Welfare Analysis in Random Utility Models of Labour Supply PDF Author: André Decoster
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Exact and Approximate Welfare Measures in the Repeated Random Utility Model with an Application to Valuing Great Lakes Fish

Exact and Approximate Welfare Measures in the Repeated Random Utility Model with an Application to Valuing Great Lakes Fish PDF Author: Frank Lupi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Advances in Accounting for Income Effects in the Derivation of Welfare Measures from Discrete Choice Experiments

Advances in Accounting for Income Effects in the Derivation of Welfare Measures from Discrete Choice Experiments PDF Author: Emily Lancsar
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Monetary valuation of both health and non health outcomes using stated preference data is gaining currency in health economics. Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) offer one form of stated preference data used for this purpose. In particular, the Hicksian compensating variation can be used to calculate willingness to pay (WTP) or willingness to accept (WTA) compensation arising from a policy change. This essentially involves a comparison of expected utility pre and post the policy change weighted by the marginal utility of income. To date in empirical applications in health, utility is usually assumed to be linear in income, or put another way, the marginal utility of income is assumed to be constant across respondents, producing constant WTP across individuals. That the marginal utility of income and WTP need not be constant across individuals was highlighted by the current authors in previous work which presented a method for calculating measures of welfare change from discrete choice random utility models allowing for non constant dependence of utility on income using evidence from a pilot study. The current paper builds on this earlier pilot work by presenting a more refined approach to esitmating WTP from choice experiments taking account of individual differences and demonstrates this in an empirical application with a larger sample size. Advantages of using this approach are outlined and further implications for the derivation of welfare measures from DCEs is discussed.

Handbook of Environmental Economics

Handbook of Environmental Economics PDF Author: Karl-Goran Maler
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080457495
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 647

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Book Description
Much applied environmental economics is concerned with the valuation of changes in environmental quality. Obtaining reliable valuation estimates requires attention to theoretical and econometric issues that are often quite subtle. Volume 2 of the Handbook of Environmental Economics presents both the theory and the practice of environmental valuation. It synthesizes the vast literature that has accumulated since the publication of the Handbook of Natural Resource and Energy Economics two decades ago. It includes chapters on individual valuation methods written by researchers responsible for fundamental advances in those methods. It also includes cross-cutting chapters that deal with aspects of welfare theory, uncertainty, experimental methods, and public health that are pertinent to valuation. Throughout the volume, attention is paid to research and policy issues that arise not only in high-income countries, where most of the theory and econometrics that underlie applied valuation methods have been developed, but also in poorer parts of the world. The volume provides a state-of-the-art reference for scholars and practitioners alike.

Applications of Simulation Methods in Environmental and Resource Economics

Applications of Simulation Methods in Environmental and Resource Economics PDF Author: Riccardo Scarpa
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402036841
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 431

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Book Description
Simulation methods are revolutionizing the practice of applied economic analysis. In this book, leading researchers from around the world discuss interpretation issues, similarities and differences across alternative models, and propose practical solutions for the choice of the model and programming. Case studies show the practical use and the results brought forth by the different methods.

A Course in Environmental Economics

A Course in Environmental Economics PDF Author: Daniel J. Phaneuf
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316867358
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 1301

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Book Description
This unique graduate textbook offers a compelling narrative of the growing field of environmental economics that integrates theory, policy, and empirical topics. Daniel J. Phaneuf and Till Requate present both traditional and emerging perspectives, incorporating cutting-edge research in a way that allows students to easily identify connections and common themes. Their comprehensive approach gives instructors the flexibility to cover a range of topics, including important issues - such as tax interaction, environmental liability rules, modern treatments of incomplete information, technology adoption and innovation, and international environmental problems - that are not discussed in other graduate-levels texts. Numerous data-based examples and end-of-chapter exercises show students how theoretical and applied research findings are complementary, and will enable them to develop skills and interests in all areas of the field. Additional data sets and exercises can be accessed online, providing ample opportunity for practice. For more information, visit the book's website at http://phaneuf-requate.com/.

The International Handbook on Non-Market Environmental Valuation

The International Handbook on Non-Market Environmental Valuation PDF Author: Jeff Bennett
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 0857931199
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
Non-market environmental valuation (NMEV) is undergoing a period of increased growth in both application and development as a result of increasing recognition of the role of economics in environmental policy issues. Against this backdrop, The International Handbook on Non-Market Environmental Valuation brings together world leaders in the field to advance the development and application of NMEV as a tool for policymaking. The expert contributors provide insights into the state of the art across the spectrum of both revealed and stated preference methods and highlight new directions being taken. A sequence of topical applications demonstrate various techniques and illustrate what can be achieved using NMEV: deliberately diverse case studies are drawn from Europe, North America, Asia and Australia with valuation targets ranging across use and non-use values of the environment. A number of reviews of cutting-edge issues are also presented. This outstanding resource will enable those interested in environmental valuation from theoretical, practical or policy perspectives to bring themselves to the forefront of developments and practice. As such, this Handbook will prove invaluable to a wide-ranging audience encompassing academics, researchers, students, practitioners and consultants involved in environmental economics and NMEV.