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Salt or Sludge? Exploring Preferences for Potable Water Sources

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  • Fiona Gibson
  • Michael Burton

Abstract

Decision makers often use information about public preferences to guide public policy. Several disciplines gather information on preferences through surveys by asking respondents to make hypothetical choices over potential policies. However the context of the choice question differs between approaches, with some failing to make the full consequences of the respondent’s choice explicit in the question. In this study we investigate whether question context matters, by exploring whether economic and psychology approaches yield a similar understanding of community preferences towards a large-scale recycled wastewater scheme. We find that stated preferences differ depending on whether the preference question is contextualised using economic incentives. The findings provide insight into the implications of inappropriately contextualised preference questions, methodological considerations in attitude identification and estimation, and the diversity of values and public attitudes towards recycled wastewater. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Fiona Gibson & Michael Burton, 2014. "Salt or Sludge? Exploring Preferences for Potable Water Sources," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 57(3), pages 453-476, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:57:y:2014:i:3:p:453-476
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-013-9672-9
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    2. Tsigkou, Stavroula & Messer, Kent D. & Kecinski, Maik & Li, Tongzhe, 2021. "The impact of nontraditional irrigation water on consumers’ perception of food and non-food items: A field experiment in the United States," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313940, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Furlong, Casey & Jegatheesan, Jega & Currell, Matthew & Iyer-Raniga, Usha & Khan, Tehmina & Ball, Andrew S., 2019. "Is the global public willing to drink recycled water? A review for researchers and practitioners," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 53-61.
    4. Parkins, John R. & Rollins, Curtis & Anders, Sven & Comeau, Louise, 2018. "Predicting intention to adopt solar technology in Canada: The role of knowledge, public engagement, and visibility," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 114-122.

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