An examination of factors related to willingness to pay for water services in Central Texas /
The purpose of this research is to identify groundwater users' perceptions of service problems in and around western Comal County, Texas, to determine willingness to pay (WTP) for supplemental surface water, and to determine the factors influencing WTP. A survey instrument was used to collect d...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1999.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=730829801&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | The purpose of this research is to identify groundwater users' perceptions of service problems in and around western Comal County, Texas, to determine willingness to pay (WTP) for supplemental surface water, and to determine the factors influencing WTP. A survey instrument was used to collect data on Socioeconomic Characteristics, Water Quality and Water Availability. Socioeconomic characteristics of sex, age, education, persons in the household, residency, household income were asked on a predetermined ordinal scale. The water quality and availability sections asked questions concerning respondent perceptions and WTP. The survey introduced a bidding game where respondents were asked to indicate their WTP beyond their existing monthly water bill per 1,000 gallons for improved surface water quality and availability. The scale ranged from $0.00 to $5.00 in $0.50 increments. Con-elation coefficients were developed to identify the relationships between variables that helped explain the most significant factors influencing WTP. To further investigate the relationship between WTP and the independent variables, a backwards elimination regression procedure was used to build models for WTP Quality and WTP Availability. The models were tested at both the alpha=1.10 (90% CI - Confidence interval) and a1pha=0.05 (95% CI). The following variables were significant in both models for WTP Quality: Sex p=0.0001, Age p=0.0422, Surface Water Quality Decline p=0.0043, Pay More Health p=0.0001, Rate the Taste p=0.0033, Rate the Color p=0.0123, Problems with Color p=0.0059, and Pay More Color p=0.0059. The following variables were significant in the 90% CI model for WTP Availability: Current Groundwater Supply p=0.0646, Pay More Delivery p=0.1032, Rate the Pressure p=0.0978, and Problems with Pressure p=0.0558. Problems with Fire Protection p=0.0328 and Pay More Fire Protection p=0.0003 were significant at both the 90% and 95% CI. The mean WTP Quality is an additional $0.78 per 1,000 gallons and the mean WTP Availability is an additional $0.66 per 1,000 gallons. The average monthly water bill is $32.18 for an average of 10,981.1 gallons. Therefore, the amount respondents would be WTP for improved Water Quality per month is $40.74 and $39.43 for improved Water Availability. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Urban and Regional Science". |
| Physical Description: | x, 128 leaves : illustrations and maps ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-61). |