Investigating Monetary Incentives for Environmentally Friendly Residential Landscapes

State and local governments develop policies that promote environmentally friendly landscaping practices with the goal to mitigate adverse environmental impacts from heavily maintained residential lawns. One of the mechanisms to achieve low-input landscaping practices in the urban environment is to promote the conversion of monoculture turfgrass lawns into partial turfgrass, low-input landscapes. Rebate incentives are used as an instrument to encourage the adoption of such landscapes. This study investigates the effects of households’ monetary incentive requirement on households’ preferences and willingness to pay for low-input landscapes. The discrete choice experiment method was used to analyze responses from households categorized into low, medium, and high incentive requirement groups. The results show that rebate incentives may have significant positive effects on individuals’ intentions to adopt low-input landscapes. Participants with low incentive requirement were willing to pay more for environmentally friendly attributes, compared with their counterparts in the medium and high incentive requirement groups. Practical implications for relevant stakeholders are discussed.

Download Full-text

Stay-at-home orders and the willingness to stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic: A stated-preference discrete choice experiment

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0253910 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (7) ◽

pp. e0253910

Author(s):

Liqing Li ◽

Dede Long ◽

Mani Rouhi Rad ◽

Matthew R. Sloggy

Keyword(s):

Discrete Choice Experiment ◽

Discrete Choice ◽

Local Governments ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Stated Preference ◽

Related Factors ◽

Work From Home ◽

Trade Offs ◽

State And Local ◽

At Home

The spread of COVID-19 in the Spring of 2020 prompted state and local governments to implement a variety of policies, including stay-at-home (SAH) orders and mandatory mask requirements, aimed at reducing the infection rate and the severity of the pandemic’s impact. We implement a discrete choice experiment survey in three major U.S. States—California, Georgia, and Illinois—to empirically quantify individuals’ willingness to stay (WTS) home, measured as the number of weeks of a potential new SAH order, to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease and explore factors leading to their heterogeneous WTS. Our results demonstrate broad support for statewide mask mandates. In addition, the estimate of WTS to lower new positive cases is quite large, approximately five and half weeks, even though staying home lowers utility. We also find that individuals recognize the trade-offs between case reduction and economic slowdown stemming from SAH orders when they decide to stay home or not. Finally, pandemic related factors such as age, ability to work from home, and unemployment status are the main drivers of the heterogeneity in individuals’ WTS.

Download Full-text

Farmer preferences regarding durum wheat contracts in Italy: a discrete choice experiment

British Food Journal ◽

10.1108/bfj-09-2020-0876 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Gustavo Magalhães de Oliveira ◽

Gaetano Martino ◽

Stefano Ciliberti ◽

Angelo Frascarelli ◽

Gabriele Chiodini

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Discrete Choice Experiment ◽

Discrete Choice ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Food Chains ◽

Decision Rights ◽

Content Type ◽

Sales Contracts ◽

The Empirical Analysis ◽

Practical Implications

PurposeThis study aims to investigate farmer preferences regarding sales contracts for durum wheat in Italy.Design/methodology/approachThe authors consider that contracts are formed by an organisational entity that is in charge of transferring decision and property rights based on reductions in transaction costs. The empirical analysis presents a discrete choice experiment with three distinct models that was performed by a survey of 160 wheat farmers in southern Italy.FindingsThe results show that contractual terms affect the probability of both a contract being signed and allocating decision rights due to their effects on price, technology and quality.Practical implicationsThis study provides some insights on which contractual attributes could support the wider use of contracts along the durum wheat supply chain in Italy.Originality/valueThe paper reveals that contracts are relevant not only to the coordination of agri-food chains because of price stabilisation but also due to their impacts on technology and quality strategies.

Download Full-text

Demand and supply of agricultural ES: towards benefit-based policy

European Review of Agricultural Economics ◽

10.1093/erae/jbz044 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 1223-1249 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Annika Tienhaara ◽

Emmi Haltia ◽

Eija Pouta ◽

Kyösti Arovuori ◽

Ioanna Grammatikopoulou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Environmental Policy ◽

Willingness To Pay ◽

Discrete Choice ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Willingness To Accept ◽

Demand And Supply ◽

Experiment Method ◽

Almost All

Abstract In order to integrate ecosystem services (ES) in designing agri-environmental policy, we investigated both the demand for, and supply of, ES from agricultural environments in Finland. Using the discrete choice experiment method, we measured citizens’ willingness to pay (WTP) for four different ES and analysed farmers’ compensation request (willingness to accept [WTA]) for producing these services. Biodiversity and water quality gathered the highest WTA of farmers, but also the highest WTP of citizens. Overall, the average WTA exceeded the WTP for almost all attributes and levels, but 20–27 per cent of farmers were willing to produce the ES with the compensation lower than citizens’ WTP.

Download Full-text

Study on Preference for Watermelon using Discrete Choice Experiment Method

Korean Journal of Food Mareting Econmics ◽

10.47085/kjfme.36.3.2 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 29-47

Author(s):

Jong-San Choi ◽

Dong-hean Jang ◽

jung-gi kim ◽

Ga Ok Cho ◽

Chun Ho Song

Keyword(s):

Discrete Choice Experiment ◽

Discrete Choice ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Experiment Method

Download Full-text

Using a discrete choice experiment to predict the penetration possibility of environmentally friendly vehicles

Energy ◽

10.1016/j.energy.2017.12.035 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 144 ◽

pp. 312-321 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Hyunsuk Byun ◽

Jungwoo Shin ◽

Chul-Yong Lee

Keyword(s):

Discrete Choice Experiment ◽

Discrete Choice ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Environmentally Friendly

Download Full-text

The Value of Social Interactions and Incentives on the Use of a Digital Contact Tracing Tool Post COVID-19 Lockdown in Singapore

10.21203/rs.3.rs-783484/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Zhilian Huang ◽

Huiling Guo ◽

Hannah YeeFen Lim ◽

Kia Nam Ho ◽

Evonne Tay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Interactions ◽

Discrete Choice ◽

Logit Model ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Public Hospital ◽

Contact Tracing ◽

Monetary Incentives ◽

Conditional Logit Model ◽

Conditional Logit ◽

Trade Offs

Abstract BackgroundWe assessed the preferences and trade-offs for social interactions, incentives, and being traced by a digital contact tracing (DCT) tool post lockdown in Singapore.MethodsWe conducted a discrete choice experiment (DCE) among visitors of a large public hospital in Singapore between July 2020 – February 2021. Respondents were sampled proportionately by gender and four age categories (21 – 80 years). The DCE questionnaire had three attributes (1. Social interactions, 2. Being traced by a DCT tool, 3. Incentives to use a DCT tool) and two levels each. The final dataset comprised 3839 respondents after dropping 53 with “irrational” responses. Panel fixed conditional logit model was used to analyze the data.ResultsRespondents were more willing to trade being traced by a DCT tool for social interactions than incentives and unwilling to trade social interactions for incentives. The proportion of respondents preferring no incentives and could only be influenced by their family members increases with age. Among proponents of monetary incentives, the preferred median value for a month’s usage of DCT tools amounted to S$10 (USD7.25) and S$50 (USD36.20) for subsidies and lucky draw.ConclusionsDCE can be used to elicit profile-specific preferences to optimize the uptake of DCT tools during a pandemic. Social interactions are highly valued by the population, who are willing to trade them for being traced by a DCT tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although a small amount of incentive is sufficient to increase the satisfaction of using a DCT tool, incentives alone may not increase DCT tool uptake.

Download Full-text

Employment preferences of healthcare workers in South Africa: Findings from a discrete choice experiment

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0250652 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. e0250652

Author(s):

Alexandra Mumbauer ◽

Michael Strauss ◽

Gavin George ◽

Phuti Ngwepe ◽

Charl Bezuidenhout ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Discrete Choice Experiment ◽

Discrete Choice ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Workplace Culture ◽

Employment Decisions ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Job Preferences ◽

Training Opportunities

There is a maldistribution of human resources for health globally, with many Lower- and Middle-Income Countries experiencing significant shortages. We examined healthcare workers’ job preferences in South Africa to identify factors which potentially influence employment decisions. A discrete choice experiment was conducted among 855 South African healthcare workers critical to its national HIV testing and treatment programs. Job characteristics included workload, workplace culture, availability of equipment, training opportunities, sector and facility type, location, salary and benefits. Main effects analysis was conducted using fixed effects logistic regression. Interaction effects identified divergence in preferences. Heavy workload (OR = 0.78; 95% C.I. 0.74–0.83), poor workplace culture (odds ratio 0.66; 95% C.I. 0.62–0.69), insufficient availability of equipment (OR = 0.67; 95% C.I. 0.63–0.70) and infrequent training opportunities (OR = 0.75; 95% C.I. 0.71–0.80) had large, significant effects on worker preferences. An increase in salary of 20% (OR = 1.29; 95% C.I. 1.16–1.44) had a positive effect on preferences, while a salary decrease of 20% (OR = 0.55; 95% C.I. 0.49–0.60) had a strong negative effect. Benefits packages had large positive effects on preferences: respondents were twice as likely to choose a job that included medical aid, pension and housing contributions worth 40% of salary (OR = 2.06; 95% C.I. 1.87–2.26), holding all else constant. Although salary was important across all cadres, benefits packages had larger effects on job preferences than equivalent salary increases. Improving working conditions is critical to attracting and retaining appropriate health cadres responsible for the country’s HIV services, especially in the public sector and underserved, often rural, communities. Crucially, our evidence suggests that factors amenable to improvement such as workplace conditions and remuneration packages have a greater influence on healthcare workers employment decisions than employment sector or location.

Download Full-text

Do Ethical Leadership, Visibility, External Regulation, and Prosocial Impact Affect Unethical Behavior? Evidence From a Laboratory and a Field Experiment

Review of Public Personnel Administration ◽

10.1177/0734371x17721301 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 39 (3) ◽

pp. 349-371 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nicola Belle ◽

Paola Cantarelli

Keyword(s):

Public Administration ◽

Task Performance ◽

Discrete Choice ◽

Ethical Leadership ◽

Unethical Behavior ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

The Self ◽

Monetary Incentives ◽

External Regulation ◽

Financial Gain

This article investigates the effects that ethical leadership, visibility of task performance and conduct, external regulation, and prosocial impact have on revealed and observed preferences for unethical behavior in public administration settings. Experiment 1 engages university students in a laboratory experiment and observes misconduct in two tasks. Ethical messages and visibility reduced subjects’ dishonesty in declaring the outcome of the task that affected their pay but did not influence the self-reported performance in the exercise tied to raising donations. For the latter task, ethical leadership and visibility interacted negatively. Monetary incentives and prosocial impact increased individuals’ unethical behavior consistently across the two tasks. Experiment 2 is a discrete choice experiment exploring public sector workers’ preferences for misbehaving on the job. While ethical leadership and visibility did not affect their preferences, a significant financial gain and the opportunity to improve the life of many people increased the willingness to behave unethically.

Download Full-text