The economic value of improved air quality in urban Africa: a contingent valuation survey in Douala, Cameroon

This study investigates the effects of ‘time to think’ and ‘ballot box’ on willingness-to-pay, while providing the first empirical evidence on assessing the benefits of an air quality improvement program in urban Africa. Our hypothetical referendum scenario proposes to reduce the air pollution relat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environment and development economics 2015-10, Vol.20 (5), p.630-649
Main Authors: Donfouet, Hermann Pythagore Pierre, Cook, Joseph, Jeanty, P. Wilner
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air pollution
Air quality
Bias
Business administration
Cameroons
Developing countries
Economic development
Economics
Economics and Finance
Electricity
Exchange
Households
Humanities and Social Sciences
LDCs
Low income groups
Outdoor air quality
Pollution control
Quality improvement
Studies
THEORY AND APPLICATIONS
Traffic
Urban areas
Vaccines
Valuation
Willingness to pay
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Summary:This study investigates the effects of ‘time to think’ and ‘ballot box’ on willingness-to-pay, while providing the first empirical evidence on assessing the benefits of an air quality improvement program in urban Africa. Our hypothetical referendum scenario proposes to reduce the air pollution related morbidity rate in Douala, Cameroon by 25 per cent in exchange for a one-time surcharge on the electricity bill of each respondent. We find that on average WTP decreases by nearly one-fourth when allocating respondents time to think but markedly increases when we use a ‘ballot box’ approach allowing respondents to state their willingness privately. Our results suggest that on average households are willing to pay US$0.42 per month (0.2 per cent of household annual income). We conclude that total citywide benefits are unlikely to exceed the costs of implementing such a program at this point, although this situation may change quickly with increasing economic growth.
ISSN:1355-770X
1469-4395
DOI:10.1017/S1355770X14000552