A stated preference valuation of the non-market benefits of pollination services in the UK

Using a choice experiment survey this study examines the UK public's willingness to pay to conserve insect pollinators in relation to the levels of two pollination service benefits: maintaining local produce supplies and the aesthetic benefits of diverse wildflower assemblages. Willingness to p...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inEcological economics Vol. 111; pp. 76 - 85
Main Authors Breeze, T.D., Bailey, A.P., Potts, S.G., Balcombe, K.G.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 01.03.2015
Subjects
Aesthetics
Bayesian method
Benefits
Choice experiments
Ecosystem services
Ecosystems
Insects
Non-market valuation
Pollination services
Population
Production
Service industry
Surveys
Taxpayers
United Kingdom
Valuation
Willingness-to-pay
Pollination services
Ecosystem services
Choice experiments
Non-market valuation
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Using a choice experiment survey this study examines the UK public's willingness to pay to conserve insect pollinators in relation to the levels of two pollination service benefits: maintaining local produce supplies and the aesthetic benefits of diverse wildflower assemblages. Willingness to pay was estimated using a Bayesian mixed logit with two contrasting controls for attribute non-attendance, exclusion and shrinkage. The results suggest that the UK public have an extremely strong preference to avoid a status quo scenario where pollinator populations and pollination services decline. Total willingness to pay was high and did not significantly vary between the two pollination service outputs, producing a conservative total of £379M over a sample of the tax-paying population of the UK, equivalent to £13.4 per UK taxpayer. Using a basic production function approach, the marginal value of pollination services to these attributes is also extrapolated. The study discusses the implications of these findings and directions for related future research into the non-market value of pollination and other ecosystem services.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0921-8009
1873-6106
DOI:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.12.022