Publication Laka-library:
Spatial effects of willingness-to-pay: The case of nuclear risks (2005)
| Author | P.Zweifel, Y.Schneider, C.Wyss |
| Date | 2005 |
| Classification | 6.01.3.70/77 (NUCLEAR SAFETY - RISK ANALYSES / RISK PERCEPTION) |
| Front | 
|
From the publication:
Spatial Effects in Willingness-to-pay 1 Introduction This paper examines the spatial dimension of responses to the external effects of nuclear power. Most people would agree that these effects decrease - ceteris paribus - with distance from a nuclear power plant. Willingness-to-pay (WTP) for coverage against the financial risks of a nuclear accident is therefore expected to decrease with distance from the plant. However, 'ceteris paribus' may not hold because homeowners and tenants can choose where to locate. If those who believe to be little affected by the externality settle in the vicinity of the plant, WTP for financial safety may well increase rather than decrease with distance. Now consider another externality associated with nuclear power, viz. waste disposal. As long as the (national) site of waste disposal is not determined yet, but could be anywhere in the country where geological conditions are favorable, putting more distance between the plant and one's residence does not make much of a difference. Thus, WTP for getting rid of this externality is predicted to have no relation with distance (except in the very neighborhood of the plant, where all eligible train lines and truck routes necessarily originate). These considerations show that in the case of nuclear power, the spatial distribution of WTP for controlling externalities is a rather complex issue. The present study is of particular interest for two reasons. First, contrary to existing published work (to be discussed below), which focuses on housing prices, it reports on WTP measures derived from market experiments.
This publication is only available at Laka on paper, not as pdf.
You can borrow the publication or request a copy. When we're available, this is possible for a small fee.