Testing substitution between a big river and a big creek: do people value improvements differently?

Abstract

Up till now distance decay and substitution has largely been ignored in environmental valuation literature. We add to literature by testing substitution between a big creek and a big river while controlling for distance decay and past visiting frequency. To be able to account for both, a labeled discrete choice experiment was set up that investigates preferences for changes in the (1) water river system, (2) water quality, (3) species richness, (4) accessibility, (5) length of restoration, and (6) additional water taxes. Such restoration is required to reach good state by 2015. To this end a representative sample of 250 respondents was collected. Parameter estimates are found to be transferable and confirm the importance of taking substitution into account for policy evaluation ends.