• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.135-168
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• 2012

This study analyzes ways to detect protest responses (hereafter, PR zero-bid) in the contingent valuation method (CVM). In order to distinguish PR zero-bids from true zero-bids (non-PR zero bids), this study adopts the concept of the implicit willingness to pay employing the Hicksian compensating surplus and the Taylor's 1st order approximation. When a respondent proposes a zero-bid (i.e., WTP=0) and chooses a PR filtering item to indicate that her implicit WTP is not necessary zero, her response is identified as a PR zero bid. PR filtering items falling into the PR zero bids category include the uncertainty of information, distrust in the government and project achievement, disagreement to project plans, discontent with the fairness of public works and their payment method and animosity against the CVM itself. The empirical analysis shows that PR zero bids take place systematically in particular respondent groups: respondents who have never used similar facilities before nor plans to use the facility provided by the public project, the employed, and low income groups. In conclusion, the study suggests that a CVM questionnaire needs to be designed carefully to minimize problems associated with PR zero bids and the potential risks of having sample selection bias should be concerned.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.435-461
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• 2015

Recently, Korean development Institute includes water for environmental improvement as an additional water demand category in water resources development project. In response to this change, this paper is to measure benefits of providing additional water in Yeondok Ohsip River by applying contingent valuation method. This study extended the conventional CVM design by incorporating distance variable into WTP function of dichotonomous choice responses and treated protest bids by estimating sample-selection models. The empirical analysis exhibited that more than 30% of respondents were categorized as protest bids and the mean of WTP from sample selection models were three times higher than that of the whole sample. In addition, the distance variable had significantly negative impact on sample WTP regardless of variables forms, and the geographical market area were more 400km, which implies that beneficiaries of water service would the households from the whole nation.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.595-628
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• 2011

This study investigates the issues and suggests reform measures in applying CV methods to the Korea Development Institute's (KDI's) Preliminary Feasibility Test (PFT) of public projects. Most public projects on culture, science and environment evaluated under the PFT system belong to the category of "nonstandard" projects whose outputs are non-marketed, and CV is currently the main tool used for their benefit estimation. A careful discussion and investigation is recommended for the selection of target population, payment vehicle, and number of payment times. Operating expert reviews, focus group interviews, and pre-tests is highly recommended to reduce the potential bias involved in the CV studies. A single or double bounded dichotomous choice format is the most popular design of questionnaire, but we identify several undissolved issues in designing and implementing the format. Some other forms of inducing WTPs may still deserve our consideration. Various specifications of the WTP function need to be tried and tested based on their stability, in particular. Employing a nonparametric approach is also recommended. Treatments of 0 or negative WTPs and protest bids are shown to be the most serious issues that affect the estimation results significantly. We review diverse measures of handling those issues and summarize their advantages and shortcomings.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.239-266
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• 2023

This study applied the contingent valuation method (CVM) to measure the benefits from an urban liner park that will be created as part of the Gyeongin Expressway downgrade project by Inchon metropolitan city government. The Incheon city government plans to create a liner park (10.5 km) in the middle of the downgraded road to provide leisure and recreation services to residents, and plans to remove retaining walls and soundproof walls to improve the urban residential environment. Considering the characteristics of a liner park that spans several districts in Incheon city and the downgraded road that will be passed by residents of nearby cities as well as Incheon residents, the target population included residents of part of Seoul and several cities surrounding Incheon. In a CVM survey of 1,000 respondents conducted in April 2018, about 70% of the respondents perceived this project positively. About 50% of 757 respondents, excluding protest bids respondents, were willing to pay additional taxes for this project. The more the respondents favored the creation of a linear park and the more they thought that this project would improve the surrounding residential environment, the more positively they evaluated the additional tax payment. The average annual willingness to pay for this project was about 15,300 won for Incheon residents and 6,800 won for residents of Seoul metropolitan area. It is interesting to observe that residents of Seoul metropolitan area, who are not directly affected by this project, were willing to pay a considerable amount for this project.