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Risk Perceptions of Arsenic in Tap Water and Consumption of Bottled Water

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  • Jakus, Paul M.
  • Shaw, W. Douglass
  • Nguyen, To N.
  • Walker, Mark

Abstract

The demand for bottled water has increased rapidly over the past decade, but bottled water is extremely costly compared to tap water. The convenience of bottled water surely matters to consumers, but are others factors at work? This manuscript examines whether purchases of bottled water are associated with the perceived risk of tap water. All of the past studies on bottled water consumption have used simple scale measures of perceived risk that do not correspond to risk measures used by risk analysts. We elicit a probability-based measure of risk and find that as perceived risks rise, expenditures for bottled water rise.

Suggested Citation

  • Jakus, Paul M. & Shaw, W. Douglass & Nguyen, To N. & Walker, Mark, 2009. "Risk Perceptions of Arsenic in Tap Water and Consumption of Bottled Water," 2009 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, 2009, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 49221, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea09:49221
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.49221
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    1. Charles W. Abdalla & Brian A. Roach & Donald J. Epp, 1992. "Valuing Environmental Quality Changes Using Averting Expenditures: An Application to Groundwater Contamination," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 68(2), pages 163-169.
    2. Bryan J. Hubbell & Jeffrey L. Jordan, 2000. "Joint Production and Averting Expenditure Measures of Willingness to Pay: Do Water Expenditures Really Measure Avoidance Costs?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 82(2), pages 427-437.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Simone Cerroni & Sandra Notaro & W. Douglass Shaw, 2011. "Do Monetary Incentives and Chained Questions Affect the Validity of Risk Estimates Elicited via the Exchangeability Method? An Experimental Investigation," Department of Economics Working Papers 1110, Department of Economics, University of Trento, Italia.
    2. Lanz, Bruno & Provins, Allan, 2017. "Using averting expenditures to estimate the demand for public goods: Combining objective and perceived quality," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 20-35.
    3. Thierry Kalisa & Mary Riddel & W. Douglass Shaw, 2016. "Willingness to pay to avoid arsenic-related risks: a special regressor approach," Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(2), pages 143-162, July.
    4. Anna-Maria Aksan & William F. Vásquez, 2019. "Quality Perceptions and Water Treatment Behavior at the Household Level," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(03), pages 1-33, July.
    5. Zapata, Oscar, 2021. "The relationship between climate conditions and consumption of bottled water: A potential link between climate change and plastic pollution," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    6. Pape, Andreas Duus & Seo, Misuk, 2015. "Reports of Water Quality Violations Induce Consumers to Buy Bottled Water," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 44(1), pages 1-16, April.
    7. Jamaludin, Husna & Patunru, Arianto & Lahiri-Dutt, Kuntala, 2020. "Role of rumours and locals’ perceptions on the level of environmental impacts of Lynas Advanced Material Plant, Kuantan, Malaysia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. To N. Nguyen & Paul M. Jakus & Mary Riddel & W. Douglass Shaw, 2010. "An Empirical Model of Perceived Mortality Risks for Selected U.S. Arsenic Hot Spots," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(10), pages 1550-1562, October.
    9. Armand Totouom & Sostaine Romuald Fouéka Tagne & Jonas Ngouhouo Poufoun, 2018. "Determinants of the avoidance behaviour of householdsto cope with unsafe drinking water: case study of Doualaand Yaoundé in Cameroon," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, INRA Department of Economics, vol. 99(2), pages 121-148.
    10. Cerroni, Simone & Notaro, Sandra & Shaw, W. Douglass, 2013. "How many bad apples are in a bunch? An experimental investigation of perceived pesticide residue risks," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 112-123.
    11. Bruno Lanz & Allan Provins, 2014. "The demand for tap water quality: Survey evidence on water hardness and aesthetic quality," CIES Research Paper series 23-2014, Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute.
    12. Patrick Lloyd-Smith & Craig Schram & Wiktor Adamowicz & Diane Dupont, 2018. "Endogeneity of Risk Perceptions in Averting Behavior Models," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 69(2), pages 217-246, February.
    13. Konishi, Yoshifumi & Adachi, Kenji, 2011. "A framework for estimating willingness-to-pay to avoid endogenous environmental risks," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 130-154, January.
    14. Matthew Bethurem & Beth Choate & Stephanie Bramwell, 2021. "Stop Piling on: Assessing Efforts to Reduce Single-Use Water Bottles at Allegheny College," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-12, August.
    15. Yanan Liu & H. Allen Klaiber, 2023. "Don’t Drink the Water! The Impact of Harmful Algal Blooms on Household Averting Expenditure," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 86(1), pages 29-55, October.
    16. Douglas H. Wrenn & H. Allen Klaiber & Edward C. Jaenicke, 2016. "Unconventional Shale Gas Development, Risk Perceptions, and Averting Behavior: Evidence from Bottled Water Purchases," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(4), pages 779-817.
    17. William F. Vásquez & Pallab Mozumder & Dina Franceschi, 2015. "Water Quality, Household Perceptions and Averting Behavior: Evidence from Nicaragua," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 1(04), pages 1-21, December.
    18. Bass, Daniel A. & McFadden, Brandon R. & Messer, Kent D., 2021. "A case for measuring negative willingness to pay for consumer goods," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    19. Samrat B. Kunwar & Alok K. Bohara, 2019. "Water Quality Avoidance Behavior: Bridging the Gap between Perception and Reality," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(02), pages 1-33, November.
    20. repec:gii:ciesrp:cies_rp_36rev is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Cerroni, Simone & Notaro, Sandra & Shaw, W. Douglass, 2012. "Eliciting and estimating valid subjective probabilities: An experimental investigation of the exchangeability method," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 201-215.
    22. Marta Suárez-Varela & Ariel Dinar, 2020. "The Role of Curtailment Versus Efficiency on Spillovers Among Pro-Environmental Behaviors: Evidence from Two Towns in Granada, Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-24, January.
    23. Cerroni, Simone & Shaw, W. Douglass, 2012. "Does climate change information affect stated risks of pine beetle impacts on forests? An application of the exchangeability method," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 72-84.

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    Environmental Economics and Policy; Risk and Uncertainty;

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