Demand for an Environmental Public Good in the Time of COVID-19: A Statewide Water Quality Referendum
Date
2022-02-10
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis
Abstract
Due to COVID-19, many households faced hardships in the spring of 2020 – unemployment, an uncertain economic future, forced separation, and more. At the same time, the number of people who participated in outdoor recreation in many areas increased, as it was one of the few activities still permitted. How these experiences affect the public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental public goods is unknown. During the early months of the pandemic, we conducted a stated preference survey to value statewide water quality improvements in Delaware. While a majority of participants report experiencing hardship of some sort (economic, emotional, etc.), mean household WTP declined by only 7 % by May 2020.
Description
Copyright The Author(s), 2022. This article was originally published in Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/bca.2021.14.
Keywords
COVID, water quality, public goods, stated preference
Citation
Parsons, George, Laura A. Paul, and Kent D. Messer. “Demand for an Environmental Public Good in the Time of COVID-19: A Statewide Water Quality Referendum.” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 2022, 1–13. doi:10.1017/bca.2021.14.