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Revealing the Value of “Green” and the Small Group with a Big Heart in Transportation Mode Choice

Author

Listed:
  • David Gaker

    (University of California Berkeley, 116 McLaughlin Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA)

  • Joan L. Walker

    (University of California Berkeley, 111 McLaughlin Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA)

Abstract

To address issues of climate change, people are more and more being presented with the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their alternatives. Statements of pounds or kilograms of CO 2 are showing up in trip planners, car advertisements, and even restaurant menus under the assumption that this information influences behavior. This research contributes to the literature that investigates how travelers respond to such information. Our objective is to better understand the “value of green” or how much travelers are willing to pay in money in order to reduce the CO 2 associated with their travel. As with previous work, we designed and conducted a mode choice experiment using methods that have long been used to study value of time. The contributions of this paper are twofold. First, we employ revealed preference data, whereas previous studies have been based on stated preferences. Second, we provide new insight on how the value of green is distributed in the population. Whereas previous work has specified heterogeneity either systematically or with a continuous distribution, we find that a latent class choice model specification better fits the data and also is attractive behaviorally. The best fitting latent class model has two classes: one large class (76% of the sample) who are not willing to spend any time or money to reduce their CO 2 and a second class (24% of the sample) who value reducing their CO 2 at a very high rate of $2.68 per pound of reduction—our so-called small group with a big heart. We reanalyzed three datasets that we had previously collected and found considerable robustness of this two class result.

Suggested Citation

  • David Gaker & Joan L. Walker, 2013. "Revealing the Value of “Green” and the Small Group with a Big Heart in Transportation Mode Choice," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(7), pages 1-15, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:7:p:2913-2927:d:26907
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gaker, David & Zheng, Yanding & Walker, Joan, 2010. "Experimental Economics in Transportation: A Focus on Social Influences and the Provision of Information," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt7vg9m3r1, University of California Transportation Center.
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    3. Ben-Akiva, Moshe & McFadden, Daniel & Train, Kenneth & Börsch-Supan, Axel, 2002. "Hybrid Choice Models: Progress and Challenges," Sonderforschungsbereich 504 Publications 02-29, Sonderforschungsbereich 504, Universität Mannheim;Sonderforschungsbereich 504, University of Mannheim.
    4. Martin Achtnicht, 2012. "German car buyers’ willingness to pay to reduce CO 2 emissions," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 679-697, August.
    5. Martin, Elliott William, 2009. "New Vehicle Choice, Fuel Economy and Vehicle Incentives: An Analysis of Hybrid Tax Credits and the Gasoline Tax," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt5gd206wv, University of California Transportation Center.
    6. Martin, Elliot William, 2009. "New Vehicle Choices, Fuel Economy and Vehicle Incentives: An Analysis of Hybrid Tax Credits and Gasoline Tax," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt6sz198c2, University of California Transportation Center.
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    5. Luo, Rachel & Fan, Yichun & Yang, Xin & Zhao, Jinhua & Zheng, Siqi, 2021. "The impact of social externality information on fostering sustainable travel mode choice: A behavioral experiment in Zhengzhou, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 127-145.
    6. Yi Shan Yu & Min Luo & Dong Hong Zhu, 2018. "The Effect of Quality Attributes on Visiting Consumers’ Patronage Intentions of Green Restaurants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-14, April.
    7. Yi Zheng & Huchang Liao & Xue Yang, 2016. "Stochastic Pricing and Order Model with Transportation Mode Selection for Low-Carbon Retailers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-19, January.

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