King, P. orcid.org/0000-0001-8550-466X (2023) Willingness-to-pay for precautionary control of microplastics, a comparison of hybrid choice models. Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy, 12 (4). pp. 379-402. ISSN: 2160-6544
Abstract
What are people willing to pay to reduce the uncertainty about the effects of microplastics? We examine this question in two ways. Firstly, using two contingent valuation questions, we elicit willingness to pay (WTP) to (a) reduce uncertainty about the potential adverse consequences of microplastic pollution, and (b) to reduce the release of microplastics to the marine environment. WTP was elicited from a representative sample of UK adults in 2020. Comparing WTP for these two scenarios suggests that respondents prefer resolving irreversibility over resolving uncertainty. Secondly, we use a hybrid choice model to show that latent precautionary attitudes exert a strong positive effect on WTP. Overall, respondents indicated a preference for resolving the uncertainty about microplastics by implementing abatement measures immediately. Given that policymakers are increasingly concerned about the potential for adverse environmental and health effects of microplastics in the marine environment, this paper suggests that the precautionary principle has strong support at the respondent level.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: | |
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0). |
Keywords: | Precaution; hybrid choice models; willingness-to-pay; microplastics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > Institute for Transport Studies (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 28 Aug 2025 08:53 |
Last Modified: | 28 Aug 2025 08:53 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/21606544.2022.2146757 |
Related URLs: | |
Sustainable Development Goals: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:230853 |
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Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0