• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.25-45
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• 2015

The government has implemented the projects of restoring the ecological integrity of streams to improve its water quality and provide resting places with local residents. Because the projects require huge public investments, their economic feasibility should be investigated through ex-post examination of their benefits. This study attempts to analyze the economic feasibility of restoring the ecological integrity using specific cases of Namyang stream in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi and Yugu stream in Gongju, Chungnam. The contingent valuation (CV) method is employed to measure the benefits. To this end, a professional polling firm conducted two CV surveys of 210 and 209 households for Hwaseong and Gongju, respectively. The willingness to pay (WTP) model used in the study is based on utility difference approach and the single-bounded dichotomous choice spike model. The results reveal that the WTP for restoring ecological integrity of the Namyang and Yugu streams are estimated to be 3,140 and 10,121 won per household per year. Interestingly, the latter is about three times greater than the former. The quantitative information can be used in economic feasibility analysis of the projects of restoring the ecological integrity of the Namyang and Yugu streams.