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Measuring the Direct and Indirect Effect of Scientific Information on Valuing Storm Water Management Programs With a Hybrid Choice Model
Author(s) -
Groothuis Peter A.,
Mohr Tanga M.,
Whitehead John C.,
Cockerill Kristan,
Anderson William P.,
Gu Chuanhui
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2020wr027552
Subject(s) - respondent , valuation (finance) , storm , preference , choice modelling , logit , water quality , scientific management , environmental resource management , environmental science , business , economics , geography , econometrics , meteorology , marketing , microeconomics , operations management , political science , law , biology , ecology , finance
We use scientific information to develop a realistic hypothetical scenario for storm water management and water quality improvements in a stated preference valuation survey. We then provide different treatment levels of the scientific information to survey respondents. Using a hybrid choice model, we find that scientific information has no direct influence on referendum votes in favor of a storm water management program. However, different levels of scientific information have an indirect effect by influencing respondent concern about storm water runoff and by changing perceived understanding of the storm water management plan. We show that both of these effects, neither of which are apparent in standard logit models, have implications for valuing a storm water management plan. Our results suggest that researchers should be aware of how their choice on the information provided may have a subtle influence on responses in stated preference survey.