Analysis on the Influencing Factors of Residents' WTP for Environmental Protection in Tourist Destination——A Case Study of Yellow River Stone Forest in Jingtai of Gusu Province

On the basis of questionnaire survey,by adopting Contingent Valuation Method,residents' WTP for the protection of Yellow River Hoodoo National Geopark in Longwan Village,Jingtai County of Gansu Province was investigated.The result showed that tourism development had greatly influenced local society,economy and culture.Residents in this area had a strong awareness of all the factors above mentioned and showed a positive attitude.Local residents would definitely like to provide a certain degree of labor or money to promote the development of tourism,which was different from the residents' attitude of developed countries.To some extent,it reflected the characteristics of tourism development in developing countries.However,the result of this paper that demographic among residents had little effect on WTP also differed from previous researches.The improvement of living standard and residents' consciousness of environmental protection were the main reasons affecting residents' WTP.Besides,the amount of payment was also in remarkable correlation with the improvement of living standard and the destruction degree of local ecological environment.

Chinese Public's Willingness to Pay for CO＿2 Emissions Reductions: A Case Study from Four Provinces/Cities

Contingent Valuation Method(CVM) was used to investigate the Chinese public's willingness to pay(WTP) for a policy to reduce CO2 emissions. Face to face interviews were conducted to collect 1,653 valid questionnaires from Beijing, Shanghai, Shandong province, and Fujian province. A model was constructed to understand the factors that influence WTP. The results indicate that the Chinese public is willing to pay CN 201.86 annually to support the policy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Participants from Beijing show the highest WTP, followed by participants from Fujian and Shandong, while those from Shanghai report the lowest WTP. The findings reveal that participants with higher income, higher satisfaction with their current life, and awareness of climate issues are willing to pay more for CO2 emissions reductions. In addition, those who are young, male and members of the Communist Party also indicate a higher WTP. The results imply that translating the public's willingness to protect climate into actions should be taken into account in China's low carbon policy. There is a need to consider the difference in degree of willingness, among different social groups, to pay for emissions reductions if the market-based mechanisms such as carbon tax were designed to facilitate emissions reductions.

An Application of ＇Willingness to Pay＇ Method as a Quantifier for Environmental Impact Assessment

The preservation/restoration of natural environment is frequently entailing excessive cost （paid by people through taxation） while it is a source of additional income for both, the State and the people, due to tourism. Since the evaluation of this good cannot be in market terms, it is applied here in a modified version of the CVM （Contingent Valuation Method）, which is used in experimental economics in order to investigate the significance that people put on this good and how much they might be WTP （Willing to Pay） for supporting activities concerning the preservation/restoration of Lake Kastoria. The WTP dependence on （i） external diseconomies; （ii） the expectations for property values＇ rise as a result of the restoration; （iii） the proximity of interviewees＇ residence to the lake; （iv） the opinion of the interviewee on the time and money spent to visit the lake; （v） the time and money the interviewees spent to visit the lake, as well as other dependencies （all taken as independent variables） are estimated by means oflogit, probit, logistic and linear regression models. The optimal concentration Copt of a pollutant in the environment can be determined as an equilibrium point in the tradeoff between （i） environmental cost, due to impact on man/ecosystem/economy; and （ii） economic cost for environmental protection, as it can be expressed by Pigouvian tax. These two conflict variables are internalized within the same techno-economic objective function of total cost, which is minimized. In this work, the first conflict variable is represented by a WTP index. A methodology is developed for the estimation of this index by using fuzzy sets to count for uncertainty. Implementation of this methodology is presented, concerning odor pollution of air round an olive pomace oil mill.

Will Foreigners Demand “Danger Pay”?

China has become an increasingly popular destination for expats with thousands arriving every year to take up opportunities in education and work.If you were to poll foreigners living in China what their main concern about living in China is,it

Ecotourism Potentials for Financing Parks and Protected Areas＂ A Perspective From Iran＇s Parks

Ecotourism has been considered as the impetus and economic investment for management of natural resources. The current research uses data mining from the recreation values of Iran＇s parks and separating influential factors on visitors＇ willingness to pay （WTP）. This study delves into the main findings of 31 researches applied to assess the recreation value of 33 different parks across Iran from 2004 to 2011. Those researches collected 9,216 questionnaires in total. It was conducted using R software and Rattle user interface to analyze gathered data and information. Results showed that 69% of respondents were male. The averages of age and academic years were 34.4 and 13.7 respectively. The majority of the visitors were willing to pay money to visit the parks. Variables of education levels, household size, marital status, age, and bid amount had an effect on visitors＇ rate of WTP for visiting, and variables of gender, education levels, and marital status affected the general amount of WTP. The average amount of WTP per person was estimated at US $1.4, and the average annual recreation value for each hectare of parks was calculated at US $2,313. This study provides justification for the decision to support the quality of Iran＇s parks.

Developing a Methodology to Evaluate Various Parameters of the General Interest as Defined in Political Philosophy of J. J. Rousseau

The“social contract”is the most famous philosophical text of Zac Jacques Roussos,which was to influence the intellectual and political movement of the 18th century.By publishing the“social contract”or“Civil Law Principles”in 1762,Rousseau,presenting his theory of the state and seeking the foundation of civil society,attempts to expose the conditions of a stable and just state by putting freedom as a precondition for law and the common good must be lawful.A central place in its political theory is the concept of general will,which is in the general interest(otherwise the common good)and on which the idea of a favored constitutional state is based.We estimate approximately the size of the external economy by the method of the Contingent Valuation Method(CVM).The Contingent Valuation Method(CVM)is a survey-based technique,frequently used in Experimental Economics,especially useful for the valuation of non-market resources/goods/services,and cultural heritage objects(of aesthetic,historic,scientific,or social value),such as conservation of monumental remains and preservation of the physical and anthropogenic environment.

The Combined Application of WTP and WTA in Contingent Valuation Methods

The In most contingent valuation (CV) studies, WTP (Willingness to pay) and WTA (Willingness to accept) were often used separately, so protesting or no response or even babbling answers are increasing, and the debate persists over the reliability of CV in economic policy analysis. In order to improve the reliability of CV, WTP and WTA is used syn-chronously to estimate the restoration cost of Maqu grassland ecosystem. Data were partly from questionnaire survey, and partly from interviews and authorities. Before conclusions were derived, we assumed these data that came from interviews and authorities were right. The main result is: If we assumed that the degraded grassland of Maqu needs 10 years to be restored, and divided the restoring period into two stages, then the restoration cost was 0.85 × 108 RMB per year in former 4 years, 0.022 × 108 RMB per year in latter 6 years. The total cost of Maqu grassland restoration was 3.62 × 108 RMB. For all the costs of restoration, WTA occupied 94% and WTP only occupied 6%, suggesting that local grassland degradation was mainly caused by overgrazing and that the overloading livestock must be eliminated in order to achieve restoration successfully. Our research also showed that combining WTP and WTA in contingent valuation is very useful in estimating the cost of environmental improvement projects. Of course, whether these results are right or not, further researches are needed in the future, especially for the actual number of livestock in Maqu grassland.

The Opportunity Cost as a Critical Determinant Factor of the Cultural Heritage Monuments＇ Valuation： A Modified Contingent Valuation Method

The subject of this study, which involves two surveys, is to estimate externalities created round a cultural heritage preservation site by means of a CVM （Contingent Valuation Method）. The first survey was conducted for the ruins of ancient ＂Diolkos＂ located in Isthmus of Corinth, Greece using a sample of 200 soldiers. The second survey was conducted for the ancient theater of Lefkada, using a sample of 100 tourists mad locals. The results have been analyzed with Logit model regression. The findings show that willingness to pay （or participate） is strongly affected by opportunity cost and awareness of the site＇s history. Further, income level and education level play a critical role in developing volunteering activity.

基于居民生态认知的非使用价值支付意愿空间分异研究——以三江平原湿地为例

在WTP距离衰减性研究基础上,将菲什拜因理论与条件价值法相结合,假设个人对于物品的认知在空间上并不是均衡分布的,不同空间内的受访者的支付意愿存在差异,以三江平原湿地生态系统为应用对象,将样本分为核心区、辐射区、外围区,采用双边界二分式CVM,探讨受访者对三江平原湿地生态环境保护的支付意愿水平及支付意愿的影响因素,建立基于居民生态认知的支付意愿空间分异模型。计算得到核心区、辐射区、外围区居民平均支付意愿分别为142.23元人-1a-1、105.01元人-1a-1、77.62元/人,总体呈递减趋势,验证了距离、认知和WTP之间相关性。研究结果表明,通过空间视角将居民的认知程度纳入支付意愿的计算,能提高CVM在环境价值评估应用中的有效性及可靠性。研究结论将为政府相关政策的制定和决策提供参考依据。

榆林煤炭矿区生态环境改善支付意愿分析

运用榆林煤炭矿区居民为改善当地生态环境支付意愿(WTP)的调研资料,得出每户每年平均的支出金额介于229.56-347.92元之间,由此推断出榆林煤炭矿区每年因煤炭开发而造成的生态环境破坏价值损失大约在13 822.09万-20 948.69万元之间。通过运用D-H模型和Tobit模型对调研资料分别进行分析,发现,D-H模型对被调查者支付意愿影响因素的分析明显优于Tobit模型。D-H模型的结果显示,被调查者"决定是否参与支付"与"决定支出多少金额"两个行为的影响因素不完全相同。被调查者对当地生态环境状况的满意程度对其"决定是否参与支付"呈负向影响;反映被调查者所在行政区域对其"决定是否参与支付"呈正向影响。被调查者的家庭年收入、受教育状况、年龄、职业状况、对当地生态环境状况的满意程度均对其"决定支出多少金额"具有显著的正向影响;被调查者的家庭人口数、对环境保护政策的了解程度对其"决定支出多少金额"有显著的负向影响。最后,提出了提高当地居民参与生态环境改善活动积极性的一些措施。

茶农生物农药属性偏好及支付意愿研究--基于选择实验的实证分析

利用选择实验方法实证分析了茶农生物农药属性偏好和支付意愿。结果表明:(1)茶农偏好"缩短安全间隔期""不提前使用"和"不产生抗药性"的农药属性,但在"缩短安全间隔期"和"针对防治"上存在偏好异质性;(2)茶农愿为优化3类属性多支付16.974、22.250和11.272元/亩/年;(3)种植面积小、受教育年限长、化学农药危害认知程度高的茶农倾向于选择生物农药;(4)生物农药实际支付高于各属性加总的意愿支付,应关注生物农药外部性。

农户对农村公共产品支付意愿的博弈分析——以河北省农村地区为例

长期以来的二元经济结构,导致农村公共产品供给严重短缺,难以满足农村生产生活需求。通过对河北省156个自然村和658位村民的专项调查,发现河北省农村地区公共产品供给不足,且农户对农村公共产品供给的满意度和支付意愿相对较低。通过对农户支付意愿的博弈分析,指出扩大农村公共产品供给需要从加大政府支持力度、明确权责以及完善民主决策方面入手。

改善东湖水质的经济分析

本文应用西方福利经济学的因果评价方法（ＣＶＭ），对东湖水质改善进行了经济分析。结果表明，游客作为消费者，有着改善水质的支付意愿；因而水质改善有着明确的经济价值。其政策含义在于，水污染治理必须以人们的支付意愿为基础，既要避免消费者福利损失，又要防止与经济发展和人们收入实际不符的治理实践。

基于旅游者支付意愿的生态旅游发展研究

以需求侧为视角,以广义的生态旅游者为出发点,对旅游者的支付意愿进行讨论。在前人研究成果的基础上整合旅游者生态旅游支付意愿的概念模型,在用实际调查的数据对结构方程模型进行检验的基础上,讨论环境态度、生态旅游意愿、价值取向、生态旅游感知以及生态旅游满意度等对旅游者生态旅游支付意愿的影响,据此从政府主导推动生态旅游发展、改革市场行为激发生态旅游意愿、加强旅游管理提升生态旅游感知、多种途径提高生态旅游满意度等方面进一步探讨我国生态旅游的发展对策。

Evaluation on Non-use Value of Dianchi Lake Wetland Using CVM

[Objective] This study was to analyze the personal Willingness to Pay （WI-P） on the non-use value of Dianchi lake wetland and the influential factors. [Method] Questionnaire was designed according to the Contingent Valuation Method （CVM） to investigate people of different occupations at different ages, based on which the evaluation on non-use value of Dianchi lake wetland was carried out. And the relationship between WTP and social characteristics were analyzed by using non- parametric estimation. [Result] The average WTP on Dianchi lake wetland is 150.03- 217.66 yuan per person every year, and the total WTP is 626-909 million yuan ev- ery year. Age, education and residence of the respondents have remarkable influ- ence on the VVTP. The influence of education level and residence on option value is significant; bequest value is significantly correlated with age; while there is no significant relationship between existence value and social characteristics. [Conclusion] The evaluation on the non-use value of Dianchi lake wetland is important for the scientific development and utilization of wetland resources.

基于CVM的煤炭矿区流域生态环境改善支付意愿及生态恢复价值评估——以窟野河为例

以窟野河流域为调研区域,运用流域居民为改善当地生态环境支付意愿(WTP)的调研资料,对流域煤炭资源开采造成的生态环境价值损失进行研究。结果表明:上游矿区居民每户每年平均支付意愿为45.25~225.00元,下游农业区居民每户每年平均支付意愿为165.73~270.05元。影响当地居民支付意愿的主要因素是家庭人均年收入、职业、年龄。整个流域每年因煤炭开采造成的生态环境破坏价值损失约为1 210.91~2 467.77万元。

Measuring Recreational Value of World Heritage Sites Based on Contingent Valuation Method:A Case Study of Jiuzhaigou

World heritage possesses various kinds of use value and non-use value. Measuring the recreational value of world heritage sites is a key issue in the heritage tourism. This paper employs Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), which is an evaluation instrument on the basis of tourists′ attitude and preference, to measure the recreational value of Jiuzhaigou, one of the World Natural Heritage sites in China, and analyzes the biases in the survey. The results show that: 1) In 2009, Jiuzhaigou′s recreational value was 3.46×108 yuan (RMB), and the per capita Willingness to Pay (WTP) was 137.31 yuan by CVM. Compared with the results of other methods, this result is significantly low. 2) Among the factors that influence Jiuzhaigou tourists′ WTP, psychological perception factors have the greatest effect while demographic and socio-economic characteristics have a small effect on WTP. 3) The virtuality in CVM creates biases both from CVM itself and in the procedures that CVM was implemented. The former includes hypothetical bias, information bias, protest response bias, and strategic bias; and the latter includes the questionnaire design, population and sample definition, sampling and data processing. The paper analyses those biases and illustrates their potential in-fluences on the accuracy of CVM measurement. 4) Although there are various defects in CVM measurement, it is still an effective valuation method.

The Contingent Valuation Method for Thessaloniki＇s Aesthetic Pollution in Greece

The purpose of this study is to provide an evaluation of the possible criteria used by the people of Thessaloniki for the evaluation of public goods and the investigation of the benefits of the conservation and restoration of city structures affected by carbon monoxide. These benefits are expressed in monetary units by using the CVM （Contingent Valuation Method）. The maintenance of the urban environment often entails excessive costs paid by the people through taxation. A city free of aesthetic pollution results in an increase in tourism. A portion of taxation paid by the citizens is allocated to cleaning the city. An increase in tourism provides the government with additional revenue through VAT （Value Added Taxes）. The main findings show that in a large proportion, 28% of the interviewees are willing to pay, but those that are willing to pay significant amounts tend to prefer mild interventions to the buildings, while those （42%） that agree with minimal to null amount demand radical intervention. The latter group, also, considers any contribution of theirs to restoration as unfair, judging that this expenditure should be covered exclusively by the State. Last but not least, from a sociopsychological point of view, this attitude could be attributed to extreme personalities which tend to prefer more holistic and direct solutions （i.e., no mixed strategy involving people and the State is acceptable by interviewees who considered themselves as having no further obligations after regular tax-paying）; as a result, they think that the State is exclusively responsible to resolve the situation.

Determinants of Marketability for Organic Biomass Liquid Fertilizer from Human Waste in Da Nang City, Vietnam

Recently, 90 tons of human waste per day are collected from private residences, offices, and public facilities in Da Nang City. Meanwhile, farmers in this region have to allocate 10% - 20% of rice sales for purchasing chemical fertilizer. Therefore, it is essential to be adopted more inexpensive organic fertilizer. To deal with these problems, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a contract with Da Nang city government about human waste treatment and production of organic biomass liquid fertilizer (OBLF) in 2015. The aims of this project are to promote the use of OBLF in farming and improve public awareness of environmental protection. 530 respondents were interviewed at Hoa Vang districts of Da Nang city, and data was analyzed by Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) under double bounded dichotomous choice approach. The results have revealed that 436 respondents (82%) agreed to use OBLF. The farmers’ WTP depends on factors including household income, experience in using organic fertilizer, awareness of environment and training of organic fertilizer in the past. The estimated price for OBLF was 94,856 VND (4.0 USD)/ton. The cost that farmers paid for OBLF was lower than that of current available chemical fertilizers in Da Nang city. This proves that marketability seems to be existed for OBLF product in Da Nang city. From these findings, the government should have policies to support and subsidize the farmers to encourage them to use OBLF in a large scale of cultivation. Furthermore, establishment of a market to consume the organic products harvested from cultivated areas using OBLF is also recommended.

Measuring the value of water quality improvements in Lake Tai, China

Despite widespread concerns and elevated policy debates, little is known about the Chinese public＇s perceptions of water pollution and willingness to cooperate with government policies. Based on survey data, this study examined Lake Tai resident perception of water pollution, willingness to pay （WTP） for water quality improvements, and its influencing factors. Contingent valuation （CV） results showed that respondents would prefer to pay 141 CNY per household a year, approximately 0.70% of their annual per capita disposable income, as an environmental fee to improve water quality in Lake Yai. Aggregate WTP for all five lakeside cities of Lake Tai was estimated at about 3.8 billion CNY, without discounts, in the next ten years. WTP was found to increase with income and female respondents were willing to pay more than males. Those respondents who were dissatisfied with water quality were more likely to pay more. The usage of Lake Tai did not strongly affect WTE