Valuing Drinking Water Risk Reductions Using Experimental Market Method

실험시장접근법을 이용한 먹는 물 수질개선에 대한 지불의사 측정

This paper reports the results of a study to elicit willingness to pay (WTP) for changes in health risks from exposure to As, Pb, THM in tap water using experimental market method. The experimental market method, compared with other non-market valuation methods, allows us to use incentive compatible demand revealing scheme, to acquire market-like experience through repetitive auctions, and to incorporate learning process by providing new information during the session. Participants seemed to utilize the objective risk information in a 'rational' manner, and to change their WTP bids accordingly. Moreover they were able to reduce the 'ambiguity' in risk perception processes when objective risk probabilities provided are quite different from their subjective perceptions. Nonetheless, anchoring effects appeared to be still persistent in spite of market-like experience and learning opportunity. And implicit values entailed by WTP bid/risk tradeoffs indicate a wide variation in values across alternative risk reductions and overrated responses to very small risk reductions.