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The economic value of improved air quality in urban Africa: a contingent valuation survey in Douala, Cameroon

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  • Donfouet, Hermann Pythagore Pierre
  • Cook, Joseph
  • Jeanty, P. Wilner

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of ‘time to think’ and ‘ballot box’ on willingness-to-pay, while providing the first empirical evidence on assessing the benefits of an air quality improvement program in urban Africa. Our hypothetical referendum scenario proposes to reduce the air pollution related morbidity rate in Douala, Cameroon by 25 per cent in exchange for a one-time surcharge on the electricity bill of each respondent. We find that on average WTP decreases by nearly one-fourth when allocating respondents time to think but markedly increases when we use a ‘ballot box’ approach allowing respondents to state their willingness privately. Our results suggest that on average households are willing to pay US$0.42 per month (0.2 per cent of household annual income). We conclude that total citywide benefits are unlikely to exceed the costs of implementing such a program at this point, although this situation may change quickly with increasing economic growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Donfouet, Hermann Pythagore Pierre & Cook, Joseph & Jeanty, P. Wilner, 2015. "The economic value of improved air quality in urban Africa: a contingent valuation survey in Douala, Cameroon," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(5), pages 630-649, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:endeec:v:20:y:2015:i:05:p:630-649_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Sokhna Mbathio Diallo & Abdoulaye Seck, 2023. "Air Pollution in Urban Africa: Understanding Attitudes and Economic Valuation in the Case of Dakar, Senegal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-17, January.
    2. Ga-Eun Kim & Hye-Jeong Lee & Seung-Hoon Yoo, 2018. "Willingness to Pay for Substituting Coal with Natural Gas-Based Combined Heat and Power in South Korea: A View from Air Pollutants Emissions Mitigation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-12, May.
    3. Zhihua Xu & Jingzhu Shan, 2018. "The effect of risk perception on willingness to pay for reductions in the health risks posed by particulate matter 2.5: A case study of Beijing, China," Energy & Environment, , vol. 29(8), pages 1319-1337, December.
    4. Pan, Yuan & Marshall, Stuart & Maltby, Lorraine, 2016. "Prioritising ecosystem services in Chinese rural and urban communities," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(PA), pages 1-5.
    5. Moritz A. Drupp & Zachary M. Turk & Ben Groom & Jonas Heckenhahn, 2024. "Limited Substitutability, Relative Price Changes and the Uplifting of Public Natural Capital Values," CESifo Working Paper Series 11156, CESifo.
    6. Hye-Min Kim & In-Gyum Kim & Byunghwan Lim & Seung-Hoon Yoo, 2021. "Estimating the Economic Value of Improving the Asian Dust Aerosol Model in the Korean Household Sector: A Choice Experiment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-11, November.

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