What Influences Rice Farmers’ Choices of Credit Sources in Côte d’Ivoire? An Econometric Analysis using the Multinomial Conditional Logit Model

In Côte d’Ivoire, the low participation of smallholder farmers in the credit market remains a matter of concern. This study examines the key determinants of rice farmers’ participation in the credit market. We use a Multinomial Conditional Logit model to consider the characteristics related to the use of different credit sources. A total of 588 rice farmers were randomly sampled from seven rice areas. Our findings reveal that gender, age, education level, experience in rice farming, rice plot size, lowland rice farming, extension contact, membership of a farmer-based organization, marketing of paddy rice, and off-farm income significantly influence the use of different credit sources. While credit requirements such as saving plus collateral, kinship/friendship, membership, favoured client, loan maturity, and the distance between borrowers and lenders are credit source-specific variables that significantly determine rice farmers’ choices between different credit sources. These empirical results show that in addition to farmer-specific variables, policymakers should consider the characteristics of credit sources for developing a credit market suitable for smallholder farmers.

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

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.

Preferences towards the brand and origin of garlic (Allium sativum L.)

Garlic is one of the best known and most widely consumed vegetables in the international field. Regarding its production, Asian countries are identified as the main producers at a global level. Mexico have a significant production of garlic, occupying the fourth place for its productive volume in Latin America and in some regions such as the municipality of Arizpe, Sonora has a productive vocation, contributing to the region's economy and family support. Hence, for a significant number of small producers, it is essential to remain competitive in the garlic market. As a positioning strategy, the creation of a regional brand emerges as a feasible alternative. That is why, and in order to know the preferences that consumers manifest towards Arizpe garlic, an experiment of choice was carried out, a methodology widely used in agri-food marketing studies, the NGene software was used for the analysis of data and in the Limdep software, a conditional logit model was estimated. The results show that the manufacturer's brand and regional origin exert a positive influence on consumers. It is noted that consumers would be willing to pay a premium if the products have the regional or national brand attribute. This information suggests the possibility that exists for small producers in the study region to position themselves in the market with a regional garlic brand.

A model for measuring healthcare accessibility using the behavior of demand: a conditional logit model-based floating catchment area method

Background Estimating realistic access to health services is essential for designing support policies for healthcare delivery systems. Many studies have proposed a metric to calculate accessibility. However, patients’ realistic willingness to use a hospital was not explicitly considered. This study aims to derive a new type of potential accessibility that incorporates a patient’s realistic preference in selecting a hospital. Methods This study proposes a floating catchment area (FCA)-type metric combined with a discrete choice model. Specifically, a new FCA-type metric (clmFCA) was proposed using a conditional logit model. Such a model estimates patients’ realistic willingness to use health services. The proposed metric was then applied to calculate the accessibility of obstetric care services in Korea. Results The clmFCA takes advantage of patients’ realistic preferences. Specifically, it can represent each patient’s heterogeneous characteristics regarding hospital choice. Such characteristics include bypassing behavior, which could not be considered using prior FCA metrics. Empirical analysis reveals that the clmFCA avoids the misestimation of accessibility to health services to an extent. Conclusions The clmFCA offers a new framework that more realistically estimates patients’ accessibility to health services. This is achieved by accurately estimating the potential demand for a service. The proposed method’s effectiveness was verified through a case study using nationwide data.

Work, Childcare, or Both? Experimental Evidence on the Efficacy of Childcare Subsidies in Raising Parental Labor Supply

As a policy tool aimed at raising parental labor supply, childcare subsidies come with high expectations. Using data from a factorial survey conducted in the City of Bern, Switzerland, we examine whether childcare subsidies reach their goal. Because of the simultaneity of the decision to take up a job and arranging childcare, we experimentally alter hypothetical income (e.g., gross earnings from a job, income from other sources) as well as aspects of the childcare setting including subsidy levels. Using an alternative-specific conditional logit model, we show that subsidies have the expected effect of increasing parents’ labor supply. Moreover, the results from simulations based on the estimated utility function show that varying subsidy levels have different effects on subgroups of parents. Subsidies are especially efficient in raising the labor supply of low-status parents, and especially for women. We also find that subsidies already have the desired effect at 25% of total childcare costs and that the marginal utility of higher subsidy levels decreases beyond that threshold. Subsidies covering 25% of the total costs for childcare lead to an approximately 2 h per week increase in the labor supply of women.

Do different Halal certificates have different impacts on Muslims?

The Halal is one of the most essential concepts for Muslims and many associations worldwide issue Halal certificates of their own. We investigated in what ways Muslims treat different Halal certificates using instant coffee as an example. We can regard that if Muslims perceive different values for different Halal certificates, they regard Halal certificate more like a commercial certificate while if they perceive almost the same value, they regard the certificate as the religious certificate. We conducted a choice experiment to gather data in Malaysia and applied a conditional logit model. We supposed that there were packed instant coffees from the same company produced in 6 different countries (with/without Halal certificate logo of the produced country) and we compared their valuation for each Halal certificate. Our results showed that although Malaysian Muslims were not familiar with Halal certification logos other than Malaysia, they perceived almost the same values for Halal certificates from 6 different countries, indicating that they regarded different Halal certificates in the same way. This result implied that Muslims found the Halal concept as a religious concept and not as a commercial one.

Choice Experiments for Estimating the Non-Market Value of Ecosystem Services in the Bang Kachao Green Area, Thailand

Bang Kachao, the largest green area in the Bangkok metropolitan area, delivers significant ecosystem services to sustain society free of charge. It is therefore difficult to achieve socially optimal services because of inefficient allocation of resources, over-consumption, and negative externalities resulting from market failures. This study’s purpose is to assess consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for enhancing ecosystem services from the Bang Kachao Green Area and to investigate factors influencing the WTP of Bangkok residents. A choice experiment was applied by interviewing 200 respondents living in the Bangkok metropolitan area. The data were collected between July and September 2016 and analyzed using a conditional logit model. The results reveal that the respondents are willing to pay 42 USD per year to improve the ecosystem services in Bang Kachao. The respondents demand clean air the most, followed by food, recreation, and bird diversity. The government of Bangkok may take proactive steps to promote agroforestry and ecotourism in Bang Kachao. A Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme may ensure the provision of ecosystem services in Bang Kachao.

Determinant Factors of Farmer’s Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Land Management Practices Evidence with Homosha Benishangul Gumuz Region: Application with Multinomial Logit Model, Mixed Logit Model, and Conditional Logit Model

The study examines factors affecting farmer’s willingness to pay for sustainable land management practices in Ethiopia, The study uses primary data collected from 200 households randomly selected from four kebeles of districts in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz regional state with 4,800 observations (eight choices for each household). The choice experiment design was done using the R software to efficiently generate an attribute and level combination using fractional factorial design. Data were analyzed using discrete choice models including multinomial logit model, mixed logit model, and conditional logit model using STAT-14. The findings showed that households were aware of the effects of using SLM and benefits of using a bundle of SLM. However, they were challenged by the costs of implementing a bundle of SLM and technologies related to it. Moreover, mean willingness to pay estimates is about 844 to 2540 birr and in case of total willingness to pay households is not less than 66% for a bundle of SLM. Crop-rotation attributes levels are negatively and significantly affect decision for SLM, while conserve-agriculture positively and significantly affects households' decision to adopt a bundle of SLM. Socio-economic (the type of crop, land size, land form, livestock, awareness about SLM and technologies) variables are found to be factors that determine decision to adopt SLM.

Valuing biodiversity of Dachigam National Park: a choice experiment application

PurposeBiodiversity loss has become widespread since current rates are potentially catastrophic for species and habitat integrity, and the Dachigam National Park in Jammu and Kashmir (India) is not a distinctive case. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to elicit the willingness to pay (WTP) for biodiversity conservation of the Park.Design/methodology/approachA survey-based choice experiment method was carried out at the Dachigam National Park, an area that is threatened by several anthropogenic pressures. Attributes selected for analysis through choice experiments were endangered species, national park area, research and education opportunities the park withholds. To estimate WTP, a monetary variable involving an increase in entry fee was also incorporated. To obtain the estimates, the authors use the augmented conditional logit model.FindingsWTP for the selected attributes per visitor turned out to be ₹302.07 for enhancing the population of endangered species, ₹121.91 for improvement in the park area and ₹171.64 for increasing research and education opportunities the park withholds.Research limitations/implicationsThough the study uncovers very important aspects of evaluating the biological resources, albeit with some limitations. The study estimates WTP for biodiversity conservation using a conditional logit model, which is based on a specific area and population sample. It would be better if a broader sample is considered to trace out the findings for meaningful generalization. Besides, the results can be replicated for similar kinds of samples.Practical implicationsWith the use of benefits transfer method, this study aims to provide policymakers with useful information to manage biodiversity attributes across the Himalayan region.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this study is to provide a critical understanding of the valuation to facilitate the concerned body for better planning and management of biological resources. The findings of the present study can be used as an indicator of the inherent economic importance of biological resources across the Himalayan range for their better management and conservation that can help in ensuring sustainable utilization of these resources.