Article
Demand for an Environmental Public Good in the Time of COVID-19: A Statewide Water Quality Referendum
Journal of Benefit Cost Analysis
(2022)
Abstract
Due to COVID-19, many households faced hardships in the spring of 2020 – unemployment, an
uncertain economic future, forced separation, and more. At the same time, the number of people who
participated in outdoor recreation in many areas increased, as it was one of the few activities still
permitted. How these experiences affect the public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental
public goods is unknown. During the early months of the pandemic, we conducted a stated preference
survey to value statewide water quality improvements in Delaware. While a majority of participants
report experiencing hardship of some sort (economic, emotional, etc.), mean household WTP declined
by only 7 % by May 2020.
Keywords
- Economics,
- COVID19,
- Contingent Valuation,
- Water Qualtiy
Disciplines
Publication Date
2022
Citation Information
George R Parsons, Laura A Paul and Kent Messer. "Demand for an Environmental Public Good in the Time of COVID-19: A Statewide Water Quality Referendum" Journal of Benefit Cost Analysis (2022) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/george_parsons/64/