The Value of Improved Public Services: An Application of the Choice Experiment Method to Estimate the Value of Improved Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure in India

Ekin Birol and Sukanya Das ()

Development Economics Working Papers from East Asian Bureau of Economic Research

Abstract: In this paper we employ a stated preference environmental valuation technique, namely the choice experiment method, to estimate local publics willingness to pay (WTP) for improvements in the capacity and technology of a sewage treatment plant (STP) in Chandernagore municipality, located on the banks of the River Ganga in India. A pilot choice experiment study is administered to 150 randomly selected Chandernagore residents and the data are analysed using the conditional logit model with interactions. The results reveal that residents of this municipality are willing to pay significant amounts in terms of higher monthly municipality taxes to ensure the full capacity of the STP is used for primary treatment and the technology is upgraded to enable secondary treatment. Overall, the results reported in this paper supports increased investments to improve the capacity and technology of STPs to reduce water pollution, and hence environmental and health risks that are currently threatening the sustainability of the economic, cultural and religious values this sacred river generates.

Keywords: choice experiment method; conditional logit model; River Ganga; sewage treatment plant; water quality; water quantity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C25 C83 C87 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-01
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.eaber.org/node/23062 (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 301 [REDIRECT LOOP] Moved Permanently (http://www.eaber.org/node/23062 [301 Moved Permanently]--> https://www.eaber.org/node/23062 [301 Moved Permanently]--> https://www.eaber.org/node/23062 [301 Moved Permanently]--> https://www.eaber.org/node/23062 [301 Moved Permanently]--> https://www.eaber.org/node/23062 [301 Moved Permanently]--> https://www.eaber.org/node/23062 [301 Moved Permanently]--> https://www.eaber.org/node/23062 [301 Moved Permanently]--> https://www.eaber.org/node/23062)

Related works:
Working Paper: The Value of Improved Public Services: An Application of the Choice Experiment Method to Estimate the Value of Improved Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure in India (2010)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eab:develo:23062

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Development Economics Working Papers from East Asian Bureau of Economic Research Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Shiro Armstrong ().