Ann Fisher

Option price estimates for water quality improvements: A contingent valuation study for the monongahela river

Abstract We present the findings from a contingent valuation survey designed to estimate the option price bids for the improved recreation resulting from enhanced water quality in the Pennsylvania portion of the Monongahela River. The findings are based on a survey design that used professional interviewers to conduct personal interviews determined from a representative sample of 393 households. In addition, the research suggests that protest bids and outliers be viewed similarly. Accordingly, a new technique for identifying outlying responses is proposed. The findings suggest that the question format affects the option price estimates and that criteria for determining the final sample of responses can have an important influence on contingent valuation results.

Market Transactions and Hypothetical Demand Data: A Comparative Study

Abstract Empirical demand studies have been based on data from (a) actual market transactions or (b) hypothetical questions. Many social scientists are skeptical of the accuracy of responses to hypothetical questions, yet few studies assess the quality of this type of data. This article directly compares the demand relations obtained from actual market transactions and hypothetical survey responses using primary field data and limited dependent variable regression analysis. Using a log-likelihood ratio test, the null hypothesis that the two demand relations are statistically identical cannot be rejected at the 1% level of significance.

Can public information programs affect risk perceptions

This article provides the first controlled evaluation of how different information materials explaining the risks from radon influenced peoples perceptions of these risks. Using a panel study, it was possible to observe how stated risk perceptions responded to information about indoor radon concentrations and brochures explaining the radon readings. The findings indicate that risk communication policies can be effective in modifying risk perceptions. Moreover, they have three specific implications for radon policy: (1) Public officials should not adopt strategies that provide minimal risk information to the public as a means of avoiding undue alarm, for this can have the reverse effect; (2) measures of the effectiveness of risk communication will depend on how education and behavior change are defined; (3) categorical guidelines about risk without quantitative information can lead people to treat the levels as thresholds, creating an artificial discontinuity in their responses to small changes in risk perceptions.

Learning about Radon's Risk

This article reports the results of an evaluation of the effectiveness of different types of information materials in communicating the risk from exposure to radon, a naturally occurring indoor air pollutant. The study involved a panel of 2300 homeowners who actually experienced risks from radon, and the information program used to explain these risks. The analysis considered information transfer and performance on specific tasks requiring information on the risk from radon to measure learning. The results suggest a systematic learning process, but indicate that the process can be influenced by how risk information is presented.

Communicating risk under title III of SARA: strategies for explaining very small risks in a community context

Under Title III of SARA, companies must provide information about chemicals that they manufacture, store, or process. Communities will use data about potential accidental releases to develop local emergency plans. Data about routine chemical releases will be made available to the public on a computer data base. Simply having such data available does not ensure consensus about reducing potential chemical risks. Laboratory and field research are summarized, indicating that people tend to edit small risks to zero as being too small to worry about, or to adjust them imperfectly from an anchor equal to the potential loss. These results suggest recommendations for communicating about the risks posed by accidental or routine releases of chemicals.

Communicating the risk from radon

A prominent television station developed a special series of newscasts and public service announcements about radon. This was combined with their advertising of the availability of reduced-price radon test kits in a local supermarket chain. The large number of test kits sold was a success from a marketing perspective, but not from a public health perspective--especially because of the very small share of high readings that were mitigated. In contrast, a study of housing sales showed a much higher testing rate and corresponding mitigation when risk communication accompanied the housing transaction, rather than being directed toward the general public. This paper examines the relative effectiveness of these alternative approaches to radon risk communication, emphasizing the implications for developing and implementing radon programs.

Radon Risk Communication Research: Practical Lessons

Those responsible for state and local radon programs often express frustration about the small share of homes that have been tested for radon, and the small share of those with high readings that have been mitigated. There are now a number of completed studies that have examined how well alternative ways of communicating about radon risk have accomplished the goals of motivating appropriate testing and mitigation. This paper summarizes the research results that are most crucial for planning and implementing effective radon risk communication programs. We identify six reasons why people do not respond to radon as a serious threat and provide some remedies suggested by radon studies.

Estimates of the option values for water quality improvements

Abstract This paper presents estimates of the option values associated with increased oppurtunities for outdoor recreation resulting from improved water quality. The estimates are based on a 1981 survey of 301 households in the Pennsylvania Monongahela River Basin.