Peter A. Groothuis

The Value of Public Goods Generated by a Major League Sports Team: The CVM Approach

This article reports an application of the contingent valuation method to measure the value of public goods generated by a professional sports team, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. The data and analysis indicate that a major league sports team can produce widely consumed public goods such as civic pride and community spirit and that the value of those public goods may be substantial. However, in the case of the Penguins, the value of the public goods is far less than the cost of building a new arena. Although the analysis of public goods generated by other teams in other cities might lead to different results, the results of this article call into question the widespread practice of government funding of sports stadiums and arenas because it appears that the costs borne by taxpayers exceed the benefits received.

Testing for Non-Response And Sample Selection Bias in Contingent Valuation: Analysis of a Combination Phone/Mail Survey

We use a combination phone/mail survey to test for possible sample biases in contingent valuation. We find no sample selection bias but do find non-response bias. We show how failure to correct for non-response bias distorts aggregate benefit estimates.

The Role of Social Distrust in Risk-Benefit Analysis: A Study of the Siting of a Hazardous Waste Disposal Facility

Distrust of social institutions is becoming an important component of risk communication and policy analysis. To assess the impact of social distrust on decision making, we examine the role of distrust of information sources on the willingness to accept a hazardous waste disposal facility in ones neighborhood. Using a prospective-reference utility model, distrust of information sources is analyzed a possible influence on individual choice in a risk-benefit tradeoff. Using contingent valuation survey data on the siting of a hazardous waste disposal facility, we find that respondents are particularly distrustful of both governmental officials and waste disposal businesses. We find that social distrust increases the perceived risk of a facility and influences the likelihood of accepting a referendum to site a hazardous waste disposal facility. The level of compensation offered in the contingent valuation scenario also is found to influence a respondents risk perception.

Modeling Hidden Alternatives in Random Utility Models: An Application to “Don’t Know” Responses in Contingent Valuation

We develop a multinomial logit model with missing information that can be used to test for hidden alternatives in random utility models and contingent valuation analysis. To illustrate our latent-choice technique, we focus on the “don’t know” responses in dichotomous choice contingent valuation questions. In this version of the latent-choice model, we probabilistically reassign “don’t know” responses to either the “yes” or “no” categories (or leave them in the “don’t know” category), if indicated by the data. We find that in our two studies a statistically significant number of the “don’t know” responses are actually “no” responses. (JEL C25, Q26)

Using Contingent Valuation to Measure the Compensation Required to Gain Community Acceptance of a LULU: The Case of a Hazardous Waste Disposal Facility

This article examines an application of the contingent valuation (CV) method to Abstract measure the compensation required for the siting of a hazardous waste disposal facility. First, the risk valuation literature on the siting of a hazardous waste facility is discussed. In this section, the authors discuss past studies using contingent valuation techniques and the importance of subjective risk assessment. Second, a contingent valuation survey is performed to measure willingness to accept (WTA) using a dichotomous choice referendum framework. Using these data, the authors test for the internal consistency of the responses and calculate the WTA for siting a hazardous waste disposal facility. The authors conclude that CV can be used to estimate reasonable measures of WTA and is a potentially useful tool for assessing the compensation required to site a hazardous waste disposal facility.

The New NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Median Voter Model, and a Robin Hood Rent Redistribution

In this article, it is suggested that the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) redistributes rents from the superstars back to the median voters. In particular, it is suggested that portions of the new agreement, such as salary caps, are designed to improve the rather skewed distribution of salaries in the NBA. Evidence from a Lorenz curve analysis of the first 2 years under the new contract suggests that all players with salaries below the median wage gain from the new agreement, and those with salaries closest to the median wage gain the most. The analysis suggests that skewed salary distributions may lead to CBAs that redistribute the rents from the rich (superstars) to the poor (median voters).

Measuring the Economic Benefits of Saginaw Bay Coastal Marsh with Revealed and Stated Preference Methods

ABSTRACT We estimate the economic benefits of Saginaw Bay coastal marsh with the travel cost and contingent valuation methods. The travel cost method is based on revealed preferences: actual recreation behavior. Using a sample of the general population of Michigan and Michigan hunting and fishing license holders we find that Saginaw Bay recreation site selection is negatively related to travel cost and positively related to wetland acreage. The contingent valuation method is based on stated preferences: answers to hypothetical survey questions. We find that willingness-to-pay is negatively related to marsh protection cost and positively related to income and environmental organization membership. Using a combination of theory and empirical results we argue that revealed and stated preference methods are complementary when estimating the total value of coastal marsh. The present value of each acre of coastal marsh is

Pay Discrimination, Exit Discrimination or Both? Another Look at an Old Issue Using NBA Data

1870 for the purpose of recreation. The present value to recreation nonusers adds

Timing of Prenatal Smoking Cessation or Reduction and Infant Birth Weight: Evidence from the United Kingdom Millennium Cohort Study

551 per acre. The total present value of each acre of coastal marsh could be as high as

Sample bias in contingent valuation: A comparison of the correction methods

2421.